Kirara: A Neko Warrior
by aisha12894
Summary: Set in an alternate universe. Kirara, is the leader of a band of bounty hunters and thieves but when this one mission arise dealing with youkai feasting. She has a run in with a famous white haired inu-youkai, who she has unwillingly caught his interest.
1. Chapter 1

The sound of grass softly crunches underneath the weight of footsteps that seem to echo and reverberate throughout the quiet setting of the forest. The sight of a village enters their field of vision as the group halts at the top of the hill in order to survey their surroundings.

One of the cloaked figures withdrew a piece of parchment from a compartment, unfolded the sheet, and read the information in a masculine tone, "Target: A village that's nestled between two mountains' valleys."

"Did recon report yet?" a feminine voice inquisitively inquires as she casually peers over one of her shoulders as a gesture to show that the male with the paper in his hands currently has her attention.

"My lady," another masculine voice surfaces from a similar cloak materializes in the midst of the group with a message, "It appears as if all of the townspeople have gather together for what I assume is an annual festival. Every single last one of the homes are completely cleared."

The woman in the cloak idly lifts her head towards the sky, briefly catches a glimpse of a crescent moon at its zenith when the scent of a inu-youkai unexpectedly hits her nose, and mentally assumes, _'There's something not right about this village. What is it?' _

Her eyes eventually descended on the village that was their assigned target after her consciousness abruptly told her that there was only one to figure out the truth and that was to discover it on her own accord.

"If anyone of you are seized, don't reveal anything! Also in a time period of three days, we will return and burn down the village if we discover any abominations. Understood?" the woman dutifully spiels about the procedure's routine whenever they start a mission.

"Yes ma'am." The group unanimously response before the woman promptly adds, "If you come in to any contact with innocent bystanders stick to the shadows unless you spot the criminal." "Take their heads in order to secure their bounty."

The group simultaneously nods their heads after they closely listen to the mission's objectives from their leader, who points her index finger toward the village after she extends one of her arms in the air.

"Try to eliminate as many as you possibly can before the festival is over! Now let's go!" The woman loudly bellows while she quickly draws her arm back inside of her cloak and speedily advances toward the village below them.

1111

"Lord Sesshomaru, they simply adore you!" a small green toad that resembles a miniature man shrieked as he leaned his weight on to his wooden two headed staff. He was dressed in a formal brown monk's suit with a black hat.

The green toad sights land on what appears to be a human male with waist-length snow white hair, pale skin, a purple crescent moon adores his forehead, with two small red fangs on each cheek, and bold red stripes across each upper eyelid. Golden yellow eyes bore in to the toad's yellow eyes as he begun to resent what he just said to his lord.

Since the toad did not want to be on the bad end of his lord's hand, he quickly apologizes for his sudden outburst. He simply watches as his lord leisurely ambles away from him and onto the wooden stage, which was recently built for this special occasion.

As the male name Sesshomaru settles down on a rather large purple cushion that was his spot on the stage, the crowd seems to be in pure ecstasy since _the_ Lord Sesshomaru graces their village with his presence.

'_What am I really doing here? I don't really care about human life…so why do these people worship me like I am God or something?' _These were the series of thoughts that passes through his head until he overhears the voice of his companion.

"Lord Sesshomaru has fought millions of youkais for as long as I have traveled alongside him! I have seen no youkai to ever draw blood from any part of the Lord's pristine face! As for I, my name is Jaken, but that is not important. May Lord Sesshomaru never be defeated in this life or in the afterlife!" The green toad name Jaken, happily expresses his utmost praises for lord.

The heartfelt stories Jaken had disclosed to the crowd left them completely enumerate with the lord. It was nothing but mere words to him since often times the toad demon was a burden a complete nuisance. On the other hand, he diligently serves as Rin's babysitter.

An unfamiliar demonic scent passes through his nostrils, which leaves him to wonder where the source of the odor emits from, _'It's nothing but humans here. So why do I smell…a neko youkai?'_

Sesshomaru silently scopes out the entire crowd of human bodies that presently stands before him yet there were no youkai let only a neko youkai within his immediate sight. He immediately removes himself from the surface of the oversize pillow and gracefully leaps from the stage.

Jaken hastily whirls his head in his Lord Sesshomaru direction only to watch Sesshomaru flies away from the stage while his loud cries of "My Lord!" falls on deaf ears.

1111

The cloaked figure critically studies her current surroundings when they inwardly conceives, _'This traditional Japanese style mansion_ _really lives up to its intended potential.'_

'_Whoever lives here…has a lot of money.' _ The woman mentally concludes before an extremely bright light blinds her and a child's voice speaks from what she assumes was the living room.

"I can't go to the festival! That's no fair!" A little girl's voice unexpectedly rings in the woman's ears.

"You're in absolutely no type of condition to go! Do you want to run the risk of getting worse, Lady Rin?" another female's voice was heard while the cloaked figure glanced to her left and right before she retraced her steps.

'_So that was what I smelt earlier when I was outside the house…a little girl with her nanny?' _the woman deduces when she passes over a hollow spot under the wooden platform.

_'I must be dreaming.' _She thinks before she backtracks her steps to confirm whether or not she imagines the sound and once again a different noise emits from the floor unlike the other parts of the house.

_'It's only one way to find out.' _The woman inwardly suggests after she quickly squats and slowly lifts her right hand's index and middle finger while her ring and pinkie fingers bend in to her palm while the thumb rests against the index finger.

"What are you doing in _my_ home?" A male voice's questions as claws threateningly presses against her neck right before she was about to open the hidden door. Her nose immediately registers the scent as that of a very strong and powerful inu-youkai.

'_How were they able to completely mask their scent?' _she irritably wonders when she slowly releases a held breath while she mentally conjures up a plan to escape with her life and limbs still intact.

Sesshomaru finally located the scent of a powerful neko youkai, who presently stands in front of him. His suspensions were accurate after he witnessed a shadowy figure attempt to pry inside of his storage area.

He merely tightens his firm grip around his intruder's neck since he purposely poise his grip over the figure's jugular vein.

The cloaked figure simply rolled backward in order to create an open space between her and the owner of the home when she came face to face with who the house belongs to.

_'I must be lucky…I hit the Lord of the West vacation home…Lord Sesshomaru.' _She contemplates to herself while she fights down the urge to smirk at the turn of events due to her luck.

She carefully observes the white haired inu-youkai leisurely withdraw his outstretch arm and gently rests at his side.

"Tell me your name, robber?" the dog demon demands for a name as he tries to figure out the identity of the assailant, who hides behind a pair of black goggles and a beige cloak that radiates the scent of a neko-youkai.

Sesshomaru listens to the robber chuckle to themselves at the question that they were just asked, "...and why would the Lord of the West show interest in a mere criminal whose goal is to earn a little money so that they can eat? That's not like you."

His eyes narrowed in on the cloaked figure before he threw his hand toward the assailant, which emitted a white lights from his fingertips. He observes the intruder dash toward the huge wall that encompasses his entire property.

Sesshomaru directs his other hand, which is now stain green due the poison from his claws, at the figure clad in a cloak. He notices that the only damage his claws manage to do results in a small hole in their cloak. This leads him to assume, _'They must have side step at the last minute.'_

'_So much for me being a gracious uninvited guest. When I tried to leave, he burned a hole through my cloak.' _She mulls over to herself as she inspects the now rather large hole in her cloak when a flash of white captures her attention.

'_How are they able to dodge majority of my attacks?' _Sesshomaru curiously ponders to himself as the figure abruptly veers left toward the garden after he repeatedly emits the white whips from his fingertips.

"Is that all the Lord of the West has to _offer_?" the cloak woman defiantly taunts him after she suddenly manifests in front of him and hastily executes a quick draw, deeply slashes his cheek, and safely lands a favorable distance away from the inu-youkai.

He raises his hand to his face when he realizes that there was something that drips from his cheek and on to the floor. He inspects his fingertips to see that it was _his_ blood. _'Whoever this is have some fighting experience.' _

The cloaked figure closely witnesses the inu youkai's skin suddenly burn until the cut that she creates was no longer visible. _'I really may have to go all out here in order to stay alive.' _

The figure quickly assess the battlefield when an idea surfaces to the forefront of her mind while she recovers her entire body within the beige cloak.

Sesshomaru critically observes the movements of his opponent in front of him when he instantly notices that they now rapidly dashes in his direction. The pond water soon forms the shape of a wall that travels toward him.

The figure's shadow hides behind the wall, which prompts him to fire a whip to split the wall of water right down the middle when it reveals the intruder's cloak instead of their body.

Sesshomaru promptly feels the sharp edge of the intruder's blade harshly press up against his neck.

"Don't move or your head is mine." the now uncloaked figure threaten not aware that he utilized his free hand in order to spray a cloud of acid behind him that forced the intruder to remove the blade from his neck.

'_Now let's see who this robber really is.' _He inwardly presumes once he emerges from inside of his acid cloud. He then blocks a kick with his forearm that was aim at his head before he pushes a weightless body away from him.

Sesshomaru sharply follows their scented trail only to discover that the person escaped inside of the house that led him to suspect, _'Is their target Rin?' _

He swiftly selects an alternative yet faster route toward where Rin currently rests up due to her being ill.

'_Should I take hostages?' _the figure wondered since she knew that that would give her some type of leeway for a bargain plus a guaranteed means of escape.

She halts in the middle of her path when she realizes that this was where she needs to be because the filthy odor of that inu-youkai grows stronger and stronger. She proceeds to regularly search for the nearest exit to her potential freedom when her instincts abruptly advises her to jump upward.

_'Good thing I jumped or that would've been my leg.' _She considers while she observes from the air a white whip retracts back to its user, Lord Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru eventually catches a glimpse of the robber's long jet black hair due to the light that slightly peeks through the crack from where Rin currently rests up at.

_'Do they plan on taking a hostage?' _he considers when he notices that the assailant halts at Rin's room before they continue to run throughout his house.

'So_ that's where they were going all along then.'_

'_This is way too easy…' _she deems as a spherical white light ensnares her attention when it develops in to none other but the Lord of the West himself, Sesshomaru.

'_I knew it.' _She mentally confirms to herself while she confidently stares down Sesshomaru. He silently appraised the individual, who broke inside of his home, tried to rob him and ended up with a good spar.

Sesshomaru shockingly behold a woman with long jet black hair with blonde tips that was styled in a ponytail but it was her red eyes that intensively glared at him that captures his attention.

She was clad in a tight black body suit that had red shoulder pads, a mesh protector that guards her stomach with a black sash that holds it in place, red kneepads over her knees and black gauntlets around her wrists.

Her cat's eyes contract due to the small amount of light that radiates from the crescent moon in the night sky.

Sesshomaru identified the weapon that she had used to cut his cheek with was a small wakizashi that rest against the back of her waist. Her skin was slightly tanned and she stood about five foot six tall.

'_I was fighting a woman all along?' _he wonders to himself while he retraces the entire fight with this woman and swears he seen her fight somewhere before.

"So what do you do now Lord Sesshomaru, the Lord of the West? Do you strike down an innocent woman, whose a bounty hunter, and was merely doing her intended job?" the woman in front of him questions his intentions for her as she displays no signs of fear in her tone.

'_A bounty hunter…' _he repeats to himself since for some reason her story did not align up to his beliefs.

"As my fellow warriors would gladly tell you if they were near this vicinity that they could confirm the validity of my job." The woman voices as she rests her left hand on her left hip and shifts her weight to the right.

"You expect me to believe that story?" Sesshomaru calmly inquires about what was really her purpose for being at one of his vacation homes.

"The proof is on my arm. However, as you can see I am fully clothe at the moment and there's no way for me to show it to you without revealing some of my feminine features to you." The woman firmly asserts as she maintains what he deems as her poker face.

"Lord Sesshomaru, is this a friend of yours?" A little girl's voice unexpectedly interrupts their conversation when their attention swiftly whirls toward her.

Out of the blue, the sound of a empty stomach loudly growls emit from the woman's stomach as she blushes out embarrassment at the moment.

'_This is so freaking embarrassing…' _she broods to herself as she attempts to muffle the loud noise, "Lord Sesshomaru, can this lady come in and eat dinner with us?"

"It's up to her, since she will be your guest." He expresses in a nonchalant manner while Rin canters toward the jet black haired woman and secures her hand after Sesshomaru bypasses the pair.

"Come on in, Maiko-chan cooked a lot of food!" The little girl happily proclaims while she drags her inside of Sesshomaru's house.

'_I am hungry…so I don't see why not…'_


	2. Chapter 2

The woman eyes unknowingly lingers on the little brunette haired girl, who was genuinely ecstatic that a complete and total stranger joins them for dinner. She releases a quiet sigh as she recalls, _'I tend to forget that children have secret powers…on how to ease a conversation and think no one can do any harm to them.'_

As they head in the direction of the dining area, the woman made it a point to observe her foreign surroundings and committed the layout to memory just in case she might need to escape. _'Even still...I wonder what's hidden under that board?' _

Her extremely high sense of curiosity reminds her that she was within distance from the site. All she would have to do was break away from the child name Rin and make a dash in that direction since it was a small window of opportunity to discover what was underneath the house.

"Now its finally even at dinner, two men and two of us." Rin cheerfully proclaims with a honest smile on her face that seem to sharply tug at the older woman's heartstrings. She casually peeks up to see that they finally arrive at the dining area.

Rin released her grip from the older woman's hand before she ran inside of the room while the woman slowly veered around the corner only to find a table covered with food fit for a king and his knights.

"We sit over here." Rin's voice breaks her out of her amazement at the food when she looks at Rin pats a cushion next to her as a gesture for her to sit down.

The dining table was a long flat rectangular black marble table that closely favors the ore obsidian. The plates were constructed from the best ceramics that was probably in their current area and the silk cushions absolutely feels as if she was on a fluffy white cloud.

The room was sparsely decorated except for random scrolls that hung about and the door that led to the kitchen, where the sound of water caught her attention, _'I wonder whose there?'_

The woman hears rapid footsteps enter the mansion, which means that whoever it was sprints to their location since it resonates louder and louder by the second until she spots the source of the noise.

What stands before her very own eyes was what appears to be a mash up of a toad and a man as it causes her to silently think, '_I feel sorry for whoever birth such an awfully ugly creature.'_

The imp toad heavily breaths while he lazily leans against a wooden cane with a male and a woman's head at the tip of it.

'_What kind of cane is that?' _ The woman wonders until she realizes the little imp points his staff at her and declares, "Where's Lord Sesshomaru? Why is this _youkai_ at our dinner table?"

Rin watches the strange woman to her left exhales a deep sigh as her eyes remain close while she tucks her arms underneath her chest counters, "He's obviously not here! Maybe you should look in the mirror for the answer to your second question."

Jaken was taken aback by the woman's sharp response to his question when he directed his probe to Rin, "Rin, whose this demon? She reeks of a _neko_-youkai!"

Rin bursts out in a fit of giggles at Jaken's conversation with the woman, who asserts to her companion, "I would obviously reek of a neko-youkai since I am one! I guess since you're a complete idiot then you would not understand."

"The least you can do is give the person, who invited you in the house your name or do you not know how any manners?" Lord Sesshomaru needles after he surfaces from behind Jaken, who looks as if he jumped out of his skin due to being surprised.

"I was born into civilization so I do know how to be polite and show some manners, Lord Sesshomaru." She defends as she addresses Sesshomaru by his formal title.

"Anyway my name's Kirara, a traveling bounty hunter and a part time thief _when I need to be_." The woman formally introduces herself by the name of Kirara when she instantly sense that Rin develops an immediate liking to her.

"That's such a pretty name." Rin honestly compliments her as Kirara idly faces the girl name Rin and deems that the tot was being completely genuine about what she just said.

"You have a beautiful name too." Kirara returns the compliment while she finds one of her hands ruffle up the little girl's hair before she draws it back to her previous position, which was across her chest.

"My Lord, forgive me for speaking out of term here, but she's a thief! If we let her stay here she may rob you of your treasure." Jaken quietly mutters to Lord Sesshomaru, who merely watches the interactions between the woman name Kirara and Rin.

"You should take that up with Rin. She invited her to dinner." He calmly explains to his subordinate before he leisurely pads his way to the end of the dining table and finally acquires his respective seat.

Rin noted that Sesshomaru had taken a seat at the far edge of the dining table. Kirara observes the brunette haired girl's eyes grow wide from apparent shock when she voices, "Jaken, Lord Sesshomaru is going to eat with us tonight!"

Kirara studies the toad demon name Jaken's facial expression of defeat while he hunkers down at the table before he peers up to see that the woman stares at him. "Humph, stupid cat demon."

"So Ms. Kirara, you're a thief?" Rin curiously probes as she did not speak in usual dishearten tone that a child would speak in after they hear the word thief.

"You forgot the part that I only have to steal if the bounty is not enough money to feed me and my friends. I take their health as my first priority since its kinda of boring if I traveled on my own." Kirara sternly affirms while she randomly piles an array of food items on her plate while Rin selectively reaches for certain items to eat.

"So are they your family? Your face lights up when you talk about them?" Rin inquisitively poses, as she was careful not to push herself to hard to entertain her company for dinner.

Kirara faces Rin, nods her head a yes, and discloses, "Some of them I grew up with and others join the bandwagon later on down the road but I'm actually happier now that I met them. They make the job so much easier."

"Are your whiskers really real?" Rin questions once she makes out that there were three small but visible whiskers on each cheek.

"Do you want to feel them?" Kirara suggests before she leans closer to Rin and feels her small palm gently move across her cheeks as she squeals in delight after she concludes that they were indeed real.

"They'll grow longer whenever I transform," She mentions in a whisper tone after she bites into what looks like tuna and rice.

"So you're really a cat demon." Rin conveys her excitement that continues to grow every time Ms. Kiara would answer any of her questions.

"You can ask your Lord there if you don't believe me. My scent can tell you whether or not I am lying." Kirara challenges Rin since she decides to play with Sesshomaru because he monitors her ever movement around the girl.

"Lord Sesshomaru, is it true that Ms. Kirara is a full fledged neko youkai?" Rin queries because she was aware of how she was going to be able to reap answers from the stoic Lord Sesshomaru.

"She's telling the truth." He reveals to Rin, who beams with a child-like bliss that Ms. Kirara was being honest with the answers to her question.

"Why would you raid this town?" Sesshomaru promptly demands in order to render a judgment on if she was truthful or fake.

"_Raid_ isn't the appropriate word for you to use for this particular mission of mines. Its more of two things: (1) the bait and switch plan and (2) if we have to conduct a search and destroy."

"If you think that that is carelessness on our part then you're probably correct with your accusations. However, this one isn't like the others that I have encountered. This one hides among humans and eat when it has too. It cleans up after itself and leaves no type of trace behind so we can follow it." Kirara explains her presence in the village when she bites a roll of bread and plucks a piece of tempura fish with her chopsticks.

"So you plan to burn down an entire village if you can't find this demon? That sounds as if you can't execute your job correctly. I thought you would have been able to sniff that thing out by now." Sesshomaru merely states his opinion of the matter at hand after he closely listens to Kirara's explanation.

"For all you know your maid could be the demon that bids her time before she eats little Rin's innards. I know you don't want that to happen since it would look bad on your part as her protector. One of the well known inu-youkai that could not even save one little human girl's life from a demon."

"The thing that irritates about these special kinds of ayakashis, is its ability to mask their scent or I wouldn't be here with such a wonderful meal nor I would I have met Rin." Kirara responds as she wipes her plate.

She rises from her seated position, glances at Rin, and remarks, "Thank you Rin-chan for the invite to have dinner with you…I greatly appreciate it and I am within your debt for your hospitality and genuine friendship. I hope we run across each other again sometime."

Rin did not want her to leave yet since she got a kick out of the argument between Lord Sesshomaru and Kirara. This was the first time that she had ever seen Lord Sesshomaru being so vocal about one particular subject matter with a person.

Sesshomaru critically watches as Rin slowly stands to her feet and closely trails behind Kirara when he suddenly catches wind of an unknown scent, _'Is this what that woman was talking about?' _

"My lord, where are you going?" Jaken inquires as he breaks away from his meal but just like earlier that afternoon.

Kirara honestly did not want to separate herself from the enjoyable conversation she was having with Rin plus the downright cut throat chat with Sesshomaru. Yet the scent of the youkai she had been hunting sprung up absolutely too close to her current location, Lord Sesshomaru's backyard.

"Come out to play…" she muttered to herself while she rested her hand on the ground's surface until a link was established.

"You sure do like to hide from me." Kirara says to no one in particular before she clenches one of her fist and punches the ground a few inches away from the koi pond.

Kirara spins around to behold a creature with a horn that protrudes from the forehead region, it was hunch over with its claws brandish at her on both its hands and feet, spikes were present along the route of what appears to be its spine, its eyes remind her of Sesshomaru's color except this demon's eyes were a dull gold. It had a spiked tail that seems to swing on its free accord.

The thing comfortably nestles on the wall's edge that surrounds the back portion of Sesshomaru's mansion, which was something Kirara was silently thankful for, while the sound of pops from its neck captures her attention.

"It's been a while since your organization has sent me such a beautiful woman." "I think I shall them for such a ravishing meal." The thing joyful proclaims as its tongue slithers out of its mouth and licks what appears to be its mouth.

"I will do my best to please you then. The only thing is you are not my type. I don't go for the youkais who prey on people just to survive, eat your own damn race, so that that will be less of you we have to deal with." Kirara suggests while she looks up to faces the demon as she maintain it within her sights.

The demon leans forward before it responds back to what Kirara says, "Well lady demon hunter, what are you going to do about it then,_ cry_?"

Kirara suddenly appears directly right next to the demon before she quickly executes roundhouse kick to the back of its head, which forces it to fall toward the backyard ground and ultimately provide her with an equal footing with the creature.

She jumps down toward the creature when the demon rolls off to its right as a crater dents the surface from the impact if her fists, the thing raises one of its hand and fires what looks to be finger bullets.

Kirara easily cut those down before she swiftly advance forward with her assault on the thing only to have it block her attacks with its free hand, _'This demon is a fast tone! I'll have to end this quick.'_

She caught its claw as it tried to aim for her stomach and used its momentum against it in order to deliver another blow to its head. She still maintain her tight grip around its wrist as it stumbles before she twists its arm off of his body.

The demon screams a curling howl as it reaches for a limb that was no longer there, "You bitch!" the thing shouts as Kirara burns its arm within her right hand before it disintegrates to dust.

It rose to its feet and made a dash towards her before it disappear behind her with its other claw directed at her head, "Your too, slow!" Kirara rotates and with a quick draw of her blade cuts the other arm off.

"It's a pity that I cut both of your arms off. So what can you do now? What should be the next limb I cut to shreds?" Kirara asks as the arm transforms in to dust like the other one had from earlier.

The demon props itself up with its tail until it was completely flat on its feet and scream, "You bitch! You really think that by cutting of my arms will help you! After all of the humans that I consumed, gave me an extra set just in case someone like you take them off."

As both of its arms regenerates, it briefly stretches them out just to get them in order for them to work.

"It won't matter…because I will simply cut those off and your legs too." Kirara threatens as the blood of the demon in front of her drips off of her blade and on to the group.

She watches as the demon sprints toward her when she hears the sound of a little girl's voice catches both of their attention "Lady Kirara, where did you go?"

Kirara sees that the demon veers its course and with its claws further out ready to claim Rin's body and her organs. She feels her feet move on its own as she uses her fire power as a boost to get in front of the creature.

All that was heard was a little girl's scream as she watched her friend was pierced with claws from the creature.


	3. Chapter 3

Rin's screams constantly echoes throughout Lord Sesshomaru's mansion after she sees Kirara throws herself in front of her as the demon's claws extends further in an attempt to finish his attack on her.

"Rin," Kirara softly utters while she tightly clutches the demon's claw that roughly digs further into her skin in order to penetrate her vital organs when she hastily grunts, "Please step back. I don't want you caught in the middle of my fight.

Rin instantly registered from the woman's tone that she is genuinely serious and was already thankful that she risked her life to protect her from the demon. She accidentally step on the hem of her kimono, which force her to fall on the floor when fear completely freeze.

Kirara refocuses on the demon in front of her after she ensures that Rin is a good distance away, "When I am done with you, I'll keep you for dinner and have the appetizer first!"

She grips the wrists of the demon, "One more thing you idiot…you thought you won this battle from the instant you appeared in front of me. All you thought you had to do was bear your fangs and you would have sent me for cover but it did not work out for you."

"You, the monster that ate the souls of innocent people and even had the nerve to think you could beat a youkai that has a higher level of power than you do. You no longer deserve to walk around or hide yourself among the human crowd only to turn around and eat them. Die you piece of shit!"

Rin curiously spectates from a distance a spiral of flames slowly engulf the demon as it desperately tries to withdraw its claws from within her body. However due to the vice grip around its wrists, she separates them from its body.

"Rin," She calls out for the little girl until her focus was on her.

"Close your eyes and plug your ears, sweetie." Kirara advises the little girl, who was slow to follow the command of the older woman as she places both of her index fingers inside of her ears and closes her eyes.

"Why is it so loud one? It's disturbing the people in this village, end this or I will end it for you." Sesshomaru's voice was heard when he blocked Rin's view of the demon being burned to death.

Kirara peers over her shoulder and counters, "Don't you think I was going to do that!"

Her vision was a little blurry due to her not instantly tend to the inflicted wounds the, "Release those innocent souls that you have taken for your longevity as your body burns!"

She made the cut quick as she beheaded the creature while the rest of its body was burned along with it. The next couple of steps that she takes forward before she drops to one knee and punches the ground out of frustration.

Rin was inquiring to Sesshomaru about what was going after hearing a loud thud noise. "Lord Sesshomaru, what just happen?"

"Your _friend_ collapsed from being poisoned when she protected you from being killed." He reveals to Rin right before he was about to depart from the site since the woman was nothing but trouble.

"Lord Sesshomaru, may I ask this one favor from you?" The brunette haired toddler speaks up toward the older male.

"Can you at least bring Ms. Kirara inside of the house? Jaken, Maiko-chan nor I is able to lift her on our own." Rin adamantly begged the white haired inu-youkai, who merely shifted from his current spot and onto the grass of the backyard.

He merely bends down just far enough so he could easily grab the side of her body and her legs before he finally straights back up and rotates toward Rin with her in his grasp. He studied her physical injuries that she sustained from the demon that she had burned.

Sesshomaru catches a whiff of that poison emits from her wounds when he glances down to see she clutches her stomach and grimaces from the pain. To her it feels as if she was on fire but her body shivers from a cold chill instead.

'_She seemed aware that the demon claws was stained with poison...then again it could have been Rin infected with poison. Since she has a cold then she probably would have instantly died._'

_"_Lord Sesshomaru, what's wrong with Lady Kirara?" Rin wonders about the status of the woman's health.

"Do you remember the question you asked me at dinner?" Sesshomaru posed to Rin since she genuinely expressed her concern for Kirara's health while she nodded her head to show she remembered.

"I'd ask if Ms. Kirara was really a cat demon and you said it appeared so but what does that have to do with her wounds?" Rin asked as confusion was evident on her face when she peered at Sesshomaru.

"Youkais are nearly immune to any poison that attack our body unless it's something new that we never encounter before. If she really is a full fledged demon then rest would be all that is needed. If not, ask Maiko-chan to make a remedy just in case manner." Sesshomaru divulges prior to his entrance in the house with Rin close behind him.

"You stupid girl! How could you allow that trash in Lord Sesshomaru's home? Did you even stop to think if she was a rogue murderer? She could have killed us all once we were fast asleep!" Jaken protests after he spots them along with the cat demon in his lord's arms.

Both Rin and Sesshomaru ignored the green toad's protest when they realized that Maiko had set out a futon, for what had appeared to be for Rin, but she forfeited it and permitted Kirara to sleep in the flat bed.

"Are you sure Lady Rin? You are sick as well! Your health should come first before strangers you don't hardly know." The servant name Maiko conveys her beliefs after she scoots away from straighten out the mattress.

"It is fine. After all the medicine you gave me, it worked and I feel a lot better." Rin claims while she flexes muscles in her arm to emphasis that she was all right.

'_Humans are complex creatures._ _How can she be this attached to this woman after they met in a mere few hours?_' Sesshomaru inwardly stews while he settles the almost weightless raven-haired woman on the white futon while Rin stations herself next to her.

"Lady Rin, do you want me to prepare another futon for you just in case you may fall asleep?" Maiko politely asks the brunette haired little girl who comfortably rests on the tatami mat.

"Yes please," Rin firmly states as she looks extremely determine to watch over the raven-haired woman, who struggles in her sleep as sweat surfaces from her pores.

"You silly girl! You would only make yourself even worse from worrying about someone you barely know." Jaken harshly belittles the girl, who merely ignores his comment.

'_My plan on killing the little brat has to be on hold…this woman right here poses a threat. I will get rid of her when everyone is sleep.' _A thought passes through one of their heads.

Sesshomaru promptly removed himself from the room and decided that a midnight flight would ultimately clear his head of the mess that just occurred; that the woman name Kirara brought to his home.

'_If she really attempted to rob me then that means that the demon she fought here was her intended target. Why was she willing to stay for dinner when her job was finish?' _he ponders since her actions did not add up.

Meanwhile,

Rin slowly nods off to sleep within a half of hour of her diligent watch over Kirara's body until a combination of exhaustion and her being ill eventually forces her to collapse onto the futon.

_'I wish this illness would go away.' _She silently hopes to herself as her eyes feel really heavy until her surroundings were no longer visible and finally drifts off to sleep.

"Its about time that she fell asleep." A random voice mutters once Rin falls fast asleep.

"I can't believe that Anion was easily taken out! She doesn't even seem _that_ strong!" The demon grumpily mutters to itself while it leisurely makes its way over to where Rin currently was before the demon deeply inhales her sweet human scent.

'_I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can.' _The demon thought as it leans his face towards Rin when the thing felt something grab its foot.

"Don't move any closer." A voice was heard until the demon felt their foot being pulled back. She easily snaps the foot off before she speedily secures its tail just in time so the thing would not land on top of Rin and wake her up.

"I knew...that there was one more in this house when I fought your friend. To bad that you're going to end up like him." Kirara spoke while she sat up and caused the futon cover to fall off of her body.

"You knew I was here all along!" the demon shrieks in disbelief as the thing was capture in her gaze.

"Well then...you won't mind if I burn you to ashes then?" Kirara suggests as a flame emits from her hand before it shrouds around the demon in an instant.

'_Now my job is done here. I have to leave tomorrow morning and met up with the others.' _She notes while she rolls on to her side. She simply yanks the cover over her head as if to drown out any other noise that she could possibly hear that will wake her up.

1111

Morning eventually arrived especially after the little tirade that occurred late yesterday night, which left a very grumpy Kirara. However, the sight of Rin peaceful asleep quickly diffuse her rather foul mood.

"Hey Rin..." Kirara announces to the little girl, "..its time to wake up."

The slumber induced girl merely turned her head toward Kirara's direction and briefly rubbed the sleep out of the corner of her eyes before she peered at the woman in front of her.

"Ms. Kirara…" Rin whispers when she pops up in shock to see that Kirara moves around just fine without any pain present on her face. "Your awake and moving!"

Kirara finds herself smile at the little girl's amazement in her tone and her face while she rubs her eyes again in order to check if she was really awake or not.

"Come here." She signals with one of her hands for Rin to come closer to where she was poise. "I want to show you something I think you will like."

Kirara stands to her feet and ambles over to the window with the blinders close and tugs on it until it budges when sun rays to pour in the once dark room.

Rin closely watches as Kirara's long raven black hair unexpectedly transitions to a golden blonde and her bloody red pupils darkens in to an obsidian color.

"That's amazing! How can you do that?"

"It's our little secret, okay? It's just in my nature to adapt to my surroundings but those are the only two colors I have." Kirara slightly explains the transformation process to Rin who maintains a look of confusion and amazement on her face.

"You can count on me!" Rin boldly proclaims before she rolls out of her futon and on to the tatami mat where the black scorches of Kirara's flames burn through after she eliminates the demon from last night.

She folds her futon and left it in its current position before she dashes out of the room to see if breakfast was ready.

Kirara stares out of the window and just so happens to notice some of her men surface from the houses in the village. _'I hope that they found something on their end.' '__I get tired of doing all of the work.'_

After she exhales a deep sigh, she smells an awfully familiar inu-youkai scent that she somehow manage to mentally commit to memory. Her pride claims that it was for just in case situation if ever she was to encounter the scent on one of her latter missions.

"You seem quite surprise to see me this morning. That's not like you..." Kirara suddenly speaks to no one in particular before she rotates her head and catches a glimpse of Sesshomaru in the room instead of the brunette haired girl name Rin.

"I'll assume that you know what you were doing from the very beginning once you stepped on my property. Do it again and it will be your limbs." Sesshomaru blandly threatens her with no emotions present on his face.

"Do you always treat Rin's quest with such a _cold _shoulder? Your hospitality ratings have dropped in my books." She revels with a smirk present on her face when she speaks but he remains stoic as always.

"Still I know that it doesn't affect your manner whatsoever but I am going to properly thank you since you allowed me to stay here for the night." Kirara follows up with as she stares him dead in the face.

She idly advances forward and slightly pass by Sesshomaru and leisurely peers over her shoulder, "As you can see your little Maiko-chan wanted eat Rin for dinner. If it wasn't for my presence here she would have continued to bid her time until she could finally have her."

"So I believe that puts you in _my _debts."

'_Who does this woman thinks she is bribing me with Rin?' _he considers the audacious of this woman.

He watches her exit the room when he notices that her raven black hair and red eyes were replace with blonde hair and black eyes.

Kirara already knew that if she had stayed any longer, her and Sesshomaru would have constantly been at each other throats but she silently enjoyed the bind she left the white haired inu-youkai in.

She pictures it as if he was a marionette and she, the puppeteer, guides the strings that controls him.

'_The only thing that I have to do now is leave but not before I thank my host for all that she did.' _Kirara thinks to herself.

She personally did not like to be in people debts and often speedily seek a way to repay them as soon as she possibly can.

Kirara simply allows her feet to take her to her next destination since she knows that her time in Lord Sesshomaru's vacation home slowly draws to an end.


	4. Chapter 4

Kirara eventually reaches the backyard where she instantly recall her very first encounter with the Lord of the West. He was so hell bent to discover, who she was underneath the beige cloak that concealed her identity.

She peers down at her feet and notices that some of her blood splatters stain the fine wood. It was right there that she had almost permitted a youkai to cease a human's life.

The square hole in the floor captures her sights while she glances around to see if Sesshomaru plans to surface from the house at anytime.

She quietly tip toes over to the area when she thinks, _'Today's my last day here. I deserve to at least see what's under here.'_

From the looks of it someone already had tampered with since it was unexpectedly unlocked after she pressed her weight on it. She jammed her sharp nails underneath the seam and lifted it with relative ease.

'_It's completely pitch black dark down here._' She notes while she barely makes out a vertical ladder. She slowly climbs a little ways before she gently returns the top in its original position.

Kirara utilizes her pyrokinetic ability to create a flame so she can see where she going in such a dark passage.

The scent of flowers hit her nose when she wonders, '_What's exactly down here?'_

Her curiosity becomes pique as she floats the rest of the way down and senses the soft surface of the earth's ground connect with her feet.

Another small ray of light graces her vision while the sound of water catches her ears, _'A waterfall?_

Kirara surveys the layout that consists of a stream of water that cascade down in to a small circular pool of water. Purple tulips were strategically strum along the side of the pool water.

"Beautiful..." she softly mutters as she carefully avoids the lovely flowers that grows when she lay eyes on a full moon in the center of the pool.

As she treads closer to the water, Sesshomaru's scent and voice catches her, "You know they say curiosity kills the cat."

A smirk stretches across her face when she considers that he cracks a pun about cats.

"...and you should know that when you back a cat in the corner then their claws come out." Kirara sarcastically retorts as she continues to examine the foreign location.

"Anyway what is this place?" She inquisitively probes while she travels around the rim of the pool of water.

"It is none of your business. Now if you will so gladly depart then I won't have to kill you..." He bluntly replies to her question.

Kirara continues to stroll around except this time she bends down to study the purple colored tulips.

"I remember that this lady, who is a florist, says that any purple flower means royalty. I guess even you have to show your status in this world through flowers." She playfully assumes when she deeply inhales the scent of the flower in front of her.

Sesshomaru critically narrows his eyes in to carefully watch the cat youkai when he abruptly notices again that she no longer had raven black hair and red eyes but instead she had blonde hair and black eyes and her whiskers were completely gone.

'_What is this woman? Is she really a youkai that can change her appearance?' _ He regards since he never witness such a feat before.

"I can see that you are curious about my sudden change of appearance." Kirara clearly states the obvious even if she did not look him in the eyes.

"You did enter inside of what I tend to consider as a private place for me to gather my thoughts. I think that you are _obliged_ to answer my question." Sesshomaru demands while he advances a couple of steps forward.

"Nope, I can't do that." She speedily comments when she judges from his scent that he nearly hovers over to where she kneels in front of the tulips.

Kirara can tell that he was not use to the word no as a smirk materializes on her face after she cleverly supplies an answer to his question.

"Why not?" his tone verbalized annoyance when he asked. She desperately attempts to bite back her laughter but it emanates as she slowly stands to her feet.

"You should ask Rin-chan that question. It's up to her whether or no she wants to tell you or not but I have extended my stay on her for a little too long now." She coyly suggests follow by a sigh when she mentions, "I shall take my leave."

As was about to make her escape, she feels him grab one of her elbows and forces her to face him, "You like to play games then you can't leave this area until you tell me what you were doing down here?"

Sesshomaru hears her chuckle to herself while Kirara relishes the fact that she has him out of character with her behavior. "It's not like you to get so fussy over a stranger now is it?" She asks after she snatches her arm away from his grip.

He merely watches as she starts to climb up toward the surface of the earth, she briefly halts to look at him, and casually says, "Since you were such a gracious host, I should at least thank you for hospitality even though it _was _Rin-chan who let me in."

'_I really wish I had more time to figure out what this place mean to him.' _she thinks to herself while she advances up the ladder, pushes the hatch upward and crawls out.

"Ms. Kirara," Rin's voice speaks up as Kirara closes the wooden plank back in to place, "I thought you had left without even a goodbye!"

The little brunette haired girl was at the level of her knees and notices she was almost on the verge of a breakdown in a fit of tears.

_'She really does get attached to someone doesn't she?' _She notes to herself while she wraps her arms around the girl and embraces her. Rin instinctively clutches on to her like a newborn baby would cling to its mother's thumb.

Kirara rubs the little girl's hair as she did the other night at the dinner table before she asserts to her, "I do have enough good sense to thank a new friend of mines!"

"After all if it was not for you, I would have starve to death!" She happily proclaims while she silently considers, _'...and you would have been eaten alive.'_

"It's no problem at all! Do you really have to leave right now?" Rin inquires about the woman's departure time.

"My other friends are probably outside right now so I can continue doing my job. Would you like to meet them?" Kirara suggests when a familiar scent hit her nose after she rises to her feet along with Rin.

She idly extends one of her hands out toward the brunette girl, who gladly accepts it without any hesitation or fear.

The wood softly creaks, which instantly signals to her that Sesshomaru finally makes his way back to the surface of the earth.

"It's about time that neko left the house!" The toad name Jaken declares while he was hot on his Lord's tail and retorts, "She has a rather snappy mouth!"

They curiously stand back and carefully watch as Kirara introduces Rin to her loyal followers.

"Well Rin, this is where we must part our ways."

"I look forward to when we can see each other again and on a better occasion." She claims while she diverts her attention toward Sesshomaru and returns it back to Rin.

"Do you promise?" Rin hopefully proposes as she hastily extends her pinkie finger toward the woman in front of her.

Kirara gently loops her pinkie within the little girl's and positively assures, "I do. Now run on back to Fluffy before he gets angry."

"See you later, Ms. Kirara!" Rin loudly broadcasts before she finally retreats back to the confinements of Lord Sesshomaru's vacation home.

"My lady, we exterminated at least ten youkais from this area and picked up enough food for the next town over."

"Where is your cloak?" One of her men curiously asks her before she abruptly points over one of her shoulders toward Sesshomaru.

"He sliced it into shreds because of a little _misunderstanding_. Do any of you have a spare?" Kirara loudly poses to her company of eight males.

One of them eventually produces a cloak that was similar to her old one and hastily hands it to her.

"See you guys later!" She cheerfully shouts as she eagerly waves goodbye to them but particularly toward Rin.

Kirara silently reveled at the fact that she at least had the satisfaction of getting under the Lord of the West's skin.

As the group travel towards the border of the village, which was their initial assign rendezvous spot. "Anybody received any word on who our next target is?"

"My lady, the agency has issued us our next mission while we were in the city." One of her many male travelers relayed the message on to the group while they settle on to the forest floor to plot out their next move.

"Did recon say anything else about the youkais we are suppose to chase this time?" Kirara probes after she plops down on a flat rock that just so happens to sit higher than her other companions.

"Recon said that that there were several threats from the towns that this group has hit. Items such as priceless artifacts was thrown away nothing of mere value was accepted." One of them reports to Kirara.

"So what was it that they wanted? Obviously, they either want one of the following two things: if it is not money then it is human bodies." Kirara renders her opinion about the situation.

"Very perceptive of you as always my lady! Instead of money there were mountains of slaughtered bodies piled on top of each other. No one really knew about the dead bodies until after a couple of days when the stench finally gave it away."

"How long will it take for a ordinary traveler to get to the destination?" Kirara curiously inquires to the one that presently reports the information directly to her.

"Based on the map's scale, it will probably take four to five days without being hassled by random forest ayakashis." The man estimates after he analyzes the map.

"Luckily for us, neither one of us is ordinary, if we don't make the trip within three days then I will have to call the mission off! You all now that I don't want that to happen since I have established a good track record. So you all better keep up!" Kirara comments before she stand to her feet and dashes in the direction of their next destination.

Her companions exchange blank looks with each other before they realize that they better trail behind their leader so they won't be left behind and miss out on all the action.

1111

Back at Lord Sesshomaru's vacation home,

Rin patiently waits alongside Jaken before Lord Sesshomaru finally emerges from his vacation quarters, "Where's Ah-Uh?"

"I arranged for them to met us at our intended checkpoint area before we left the village, but don't worry about that little girl." Jaken answers her question after being poke in the arm for the answer.

"That was quite nice of you Lord Jaken." Rin kindly thanks the green toad creature to the side of her when Sesshomaru leisurely venture toward the exit of his gate. The arrival of that woman along with two cases of youkais that randomly appears in his home made it completely unsafe for Rin to stay there any longer.

The same scent that belonged to that woman hits his nose while they travel down what he assumed was the exact same road she had used in order to exit the village.

'_She knew something was here but what was her purpose?' _he ponders to himself once they made their way to their checkpoint to pick up Ah-Un for Rin.

1111

A few days later...

Kirara unexpectedly halts a few miles away from their target destination when she suddenly inquires, "Are you sure this is the right location?"

A brief pause followed since her men attempted to catch their breathes since they ran day in and day out with a small break to sleep. "I am sure my lady." one of her men responds to her question.

She casually strolls around until she cautiously nears a trail while she carefully monitors that there no youkais within a four-mile radius around their current location.

_'Are those track marks?'_

Kirara bends down to observe the tracks, notices black residue that holds the distinct scent of gunpowder within the bed of the tracks, and calculates _'The tracks led in to the town.'_

"Is everything alright my lady?" an older man with silver hair approaches her after he studies the expression of confusion present on her face.

"I found what looks and smells like gunpowder in the tire tracks but the only way tire marks would make such a deep imprint like this is if...it totes something very heavy." Kirara divulges what she discovers to her group.

"Do you think they could have been carrying firearms or fireworks?" the silver haired man suggests to her before she rotates around, steps over the bushes and makes her way back to the group.

"My lady...we are all ready to go." one of them reports while they all stand to their feet to show that indeed they were ready to move out.

Kirara scans the face of the men before her and could not help but to wonder as in how in Kami's forsaken name did she ever amass such loyal companions with her bad luck.

"Keep on your toes with this one!" She forewarns them before she explains why, "I found some tire marks with gunpowder residue on the trail a couple of steps over. These youkais may have some fireworks or firepower as an excuse to invade the town."

"Do you plan to enter first, my lady, or do we have the honor this time?" The silver haired man poses to Kirara as she scans the faces of her men again.

She merely removes her cloak from around her body, neatly folds it and diligently hands it to the silver haired man before she speedily disappears from within their sights.

'_It seems as if it has a normal setting but those tracks lead all the way there.' _Kirara thinks to herself after she realizes that the tire tracks lead all the way to what appears to be an inn.

_'There's something off about this village...'_

The streets were vacant of any type of human activity: no vendors selling their products, no children playing or running around and not even neighbors having conversations.

_'It seems as if I have been spotted.'_

She feels intense eyes hone in on her every move while she snaps her head left and then right but still there was nothing within her sights.

'_I guess since no one is home I should let myself in.' _Kirara assumes before halts in the middle of her stride when her nose picks up on something new, _'I am picking up an unfamiliar scent…could it be…'_

"Which one of you want to handle this one?" a voice from the shadows speaks while they watch Kirara search through the abandoned houses.

"I had the last one!" One of them quickly responded in a bored tone.

"I'll do it, this time." One of them agrees since they did not want to have a commotion over something so simple as to who has to kill the woman.

"What do you think big brother?" another voice inquires toward another body that was present.

"Just get the job done with little to no noise." The voice sounded absolute when it spoke to the other voices.


	5. Chapter 5

'_Wait a minute…' _Kirara halts in the middle of her search in one of the many abandon homes in the village when the scent of poison clouds alert her sense of smell. _'__I smell something.' _

She promptly thinks before she unexpectedly feels an extremely sharp object roughly pierces her in her back, which causes her to quickly face plant the dusty surface of the road.

"That was too easy…" A voice had spoke before they were cut off by another voice that interjected, "It's not over yet!"

The statement prompts the spectators to cast their gaze over to what looks like smoke that emanates from Kirara's back. She fumbles around until she grasps some of the ground within her hand before she pushes herself up.

"She's not human!" A voice shockingly exclaims after they watch Kirara simply dusts herself off before she finally comes face to face with the hidden assailant.

He has jet black hair with white streaks throughout his hair with it blown straight back. He has slightly tan skin with green marks two on each cheek and two down his forehead. Kirara sees her blood drip from his metallic claws that were attached to a brass knuckle on both of his fist.

'_This is just one of them…where are the others?' _she wonders while she tries to look to her left when the person in front of her squares up with another attack.

Kirara had to create distance between her and the man in front of her. He lounges at her and delivers rapid punches with the intent to hit one or maybe all of her vital organs at once.

She nimbly dodges his barrage of speedy punches and swiftly uses his momentum against him and roughly jabs his claws in to the ground.

A whiz noise caught her heightened sense of hearing as her gut told her to move again to her left then duck. Sure enough a small spherical black ball was lodged where she was intended to be.

"What is up with this chick?" a voice says to themselves while the others remain steadfast in their position.

'_That's two down and five more to go.' _She considers after she overhears the man, who previously attacks her releases a loud growl before he removes his trap fist from the ground.

'_This is not going to end pretty…' _Kirara realizes before she hears a voice orders, "That is enough."

'_Alright than the show finally begins.' _She concluded when she saw the man that attacked her ease in to a still motion before he licked the blood off of his claws.

Kirara hears and feels the ground shake underneather her when she come face to face with a half man and half tank with short red hair, a katana held by a white sash, a metal and a real left arm. _'The tire tracks and the gunpowder came from that thing?'_

Her eyes then land on a male mostly around her height with a blue bandanna with various shades of blue and brown arm. He had two purple marks that ran from the length of his chin to midway of his forehead, with another tattoo in the top middle part of his forehead as a cannon sat on his shoulders.

She sees a larger male with short green hair with sharp teeth and rather large hands that were probably use to crush opponents who stands beside a much smaller round male with all white on and even wore a cap over his head. He had two curved tattoos underneath his eyes that reached to the temple of his head along with two diagonal from his mouth.

Then there was the male, who wore a pastel colored yukata along with a purple scarf with a katana with a weird hilt on his back. He wore red lipstick and had two light purple marks, which started from the bottom of his eye to where his chin was.

"Who are you really?" the source of the voice came from a teenage boy around the age of seventeen with long black hair that was braided in the back. He wore a white shirt that had a patch of blue on the left shoulder, which was slightly covered by shoulder armor.

His shirt cut off at mid-forearm while his forearm was covered by armor that left his fingers exposed. His armor had a red obi around the waist about his hips, with a long piece of cloth the same design as his chest armor had a blue fern design and black rims. He wore long bell-shaped pants that was cut off at mid calf with rest of his legs covered with armor.

"You wouldn't know where the people who reside in this village would be, do you?" she politely asks since she always treads lightly when it comes down to obtaining information about her bounties.

"I'm sorry but those people abandon this village long before we got here. We are simiply taking temporary residence here." The man with the long hair states while he takes a step away from the six people around him.

"Then answer me this," Kirara states as she still was on her guard, "Why did you attack me when I posed no threat to you?"

"You are not human either, are you?" his question caught Kirara off-guard since she could tell that he was probably the leader of the group of seven.

The six of them were also caught off guard after they heard what their big brother had asked of the woman in front of them, "Are you not going to answer the question?"

"Now that you mention it, she was able to avoid all of Suikostu's attack…no mere human can do that on their own without some sort of training." Their leader speaks to the group when it starts to make sense now.

"Can I eat her, big brother?" the one, who has the wavy green hair happily inquires as he greedily licks his teeth with his tongue.

"Heel Kyoukotsu." The one in front of her ordered before he backed in to his original position when the leader took another step forward until he was but a mere distance from Kirara.

"She's not human. She's a youkai," The man in front of her mentions while she takes another step back from his close presence.

"And she is not by herself either…" he stated when he opened his eyes to see that she was surrounded by seven other people now.

"Oi, there are some cute ones!" The one with the pastel color kimono cheerfully exclaims while he clasps his hands together to show his excitement.

"Control yourself Jakostu! We have guests." It was the man in front of her who spoke yet again.

"You seem to be well prepared but so am I. Come to me Banryuu." The man calmly speaks when he leisurely lifts his right hand while Kirara hears the exact same whiz noise once again.

"Who said we came here to fight? We were just passing through. If I remember correctly it was actually you who attacked me first." Kirara mentions to the raven haired leader.

She can tell that from her group strength and theirs it would be somewhat difficult to compete with them at that moment.

Kirara watches as the leader wedges his sword in the ground after he listens to Kirara's statement, "She does have a point. We did recklessly attack her while she did no harm to us. Accept my apology on the behalf of Suikostu."

'_You really think that I am that dumb…ah well guess I will play along then.' _She assumes while she looks around at the seven for any signs or shifts in their faces to give away their true motive.

"We are quite tired. We would like to rest for the night. That is, if you don't mind us invading on your privacy?" Kirara rebuttals for his apology while she concocts a plan to getting closer to them so she can kill them.

"Would you guys mind at all, if we have some company for tonight?" He asks what she will assume to be his makeshift family as they nod their head to show that they agree with the deal.

"Fine then. We don't mind at all. Just try not to wonder around _too_ much." He advises after he removes his sword from the ground and walks away with his back turns to her.

"Oh and if you try anything, don't beg for mercy." He threatens once he pauses to peer over one of his shoulders before he resumes his pace toward an abandon house.

Kirara bends down to touch the ground and conducts a read on all seven while she pretends to draw a line on the ground. _'As I thought…he would have the most power out of them.'_

"Alright let's find an inn to see if we can get enough beds and find some food to eat." Kirara gives out orders after she returns to her upright position.

"Hey big brother, do you think we should trust that woman?" Jakostu inquires about his big brother reason for letting that blonde haired woman stay in their village.

"Our answer will come later on in the night, but until then tell everyone to be on their guards for a just in case manner." He replies before he heads in to his original hiding place.

1111

Sesshomaru along with his other traveling companions were making their way pass a town marker when a familiar scent catches his nose.

He turns to see Rin blankly stares out at her surroundings as her eyes began to heavily droop while he picks up several other unfamiliar scents that cause him to be on alert.

"What's wrong my lord?" Jaken curiously inquires about the reason he had suddenly stop in his tracks. '_She looks as if she is going to fall off any moment.'_

"We are going to make camp here." Sesshomaru orders while Ah-Uh comes to a stop with a half woke Rin on top of its saddle.

1111

"Hey, they have a hot springs in this town!" Kirara hears one of her men exclaims after a pair came back from finding food and doing recon on the village.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Sugita! I say we should all go since we've been on the move lately." Kirara confirms what she overhears from her the report.

Her men's cries of "hooray" were something that she could never really get use to but the thought of a hot spring would do her tired and exhausted body some good.

The walk there was just around five to seven minutes, which meant it was not too far of a walk back to the abandoned inn.

"Well this is where we part ways. Try not to kill each other!" Kirara advises her men while she sees the word women's and men's written on a plank of wood that dangles at the hot springs.

As she undresses, Kirara develops a sensation that something was not quite right as she peers off to her left and then to the right but saw nothing.

She wraps a spare towel around her body and makes her way out to the hot springs. _'Its actually quiet for once…'_

The water was surprisingly warm when she idly steps in and allows the heat to relax and ease her tense muscles. "I am surprised you found out about this hot springs."

"What are you doing here? Can't you read it said women's the men are over there!" Kirara piercingly shouts since she was surprise that the man, who wears make up, was in the women's hot spring.

"The men play to roughly for a delicate flower like myself. So I came over here." He explains while he fixes the knot on his towel that was wrap around his chest instead of his waist.

'_What is wrong with this guy?' _Kirara wonders after she hears his statement before she releases a sigh of deep breath

"Well you probably would want to be by yourself. I already finished with my soak." He utters after he removes himself from the warm water but before he waves a goodbye to her.

'_I swear is there a sane person among them?' _Kirara thought as she found herself bored in the warm water all alone so she started to hum.

"Is that my lovely songbird?" a set of red eyes appeared underneath the water's surface when Kirara felt weightless all of a sudden.

'_What the world?' _she thinks while she feels something grasping her tightly. When the water fell back to the surface of the earth, she was now staring at a youkai that was triple in size and was bigger than the hot springs.

"My lady!" she overhears from the male side of the hot springs while she glances over before she snaps her head back forward with her cheeks tint red.

"Put on a freaking towel!" Kirara loudly exclaims after she personally witnesses her companions' anatomy as she tightly shuts her eyes from the shock.

'_How did this thing sneak up on me?' _she wonders when the scent of a white haired youkai hit her nose as well as another scent that was slightly familiar to her.

The vice grip that the youkai had on her was simply incredible. She was surprised that the thing did not break any of her ribs or her bones yet.

"I finally found you song bird." The thing addresses her by the moniker _songbird_ while she feels it's large palm grazes her now jet-black hair.

"It is not even your first night here and you're already causing trouble for me!" A voice breaks her out of her thoughts as she looks over to see that it was the teenage boy from earlier that stands on the fence.

"No one is going to take my song bird away from me."

The youkai attacks with its free hand while the teenage boy runs along the arm before he slices off the hand that traps Kirara.

'_This is no better then the first time.' _She complains since the thing's fingers were heavy to move and continues to drag her deeper and deeper in to the water.

"Songbird!"

The thing completely forgot about the man that cut of his hand as it frantically searches the hot spring for Kirara.

'_It seems as if we have someone else who wants to join the party.' _The teenage boy acknowledges when he feels his Banryuu pulsates after he hacks off the youkai's hand.

The sound of bubbles caught his attention, when a thought passed through his head, _'Hotsprings don't make that much bubbles…or could it be?'_

Kirara furiously seethed with anger at the fact she easily allowed a youkai to sneak up on her while she desperately needed to relax.

'_Oh…this thing is about to go down!' _she declares after she burns the fleshy hand of the youkai as well as its feet when she feels tremors from it moving about.

'_It seems as if I have no choice. After all, I don't want to reveal to much in order to gain my bounty.' _She reminds herself that she still had a mission to complete and put a limit on her flames.

"Hey big brother, I didn't know you like to come to the hot springs too." A fully cloth Jakostu states while he adjusts his sword on his back, when he sees Bankostu in front of a rather larger demon.

"Oi, is it me or is the hot spring making more bubbles then usual." Jakostu points out to his big brother, who return to the fence.

'_So she is about to show us her power…' _he thinks as he finds himself getting anxious by the second to see what was going to happen next.


	6. Chapter 6

'_This is a much larger youkai than I usually take down. This might get just a little ugly.' _She thinks to herself once she was able to make out the blurry shape of the rather large youkai.

"Songbird?" The thing questions itself while Bankostu and Jakostu watch as the thing sticks its hand in the hot spring water as if to search for that woman.

Bankostu feels his Banryuu's pulsations however this time it was a lot stronger than the last one, _'As I thought, we have a guest.'_

"Aah!" The thing shrieks in pain after it falls on its butt while the other hand floats on top of the water.

'_When did she do that?' _The question circulated throughout the spectators' thoughts especially those who were not quite familiar with Kirara's demonic powers.

Reddish orange light slowly creeps up and around the thigh of the creature as it leaves nothing but ashes.

_'A slow and painful way to die.' _Bankostu inwardly notes since he was throughly verse in multiple forms of torture.

A black head of hair bobbles to the top of the water before Kirara's shoulders emerge from the springs.

'_That can't be! Why is he here?' _Kirara inwardly wonders when the familiar scent of a youkai hits her nose. She rotates her head in the direction the aroma emanates from.

"You know spying on people is not a good personality trait." Kirara suddenly mentions to no one in particular.

'_Who is she talking to?' _Jakostu ponders while the noise of her men brings him out of his thoughts.

"My lady, are you alright?" One of her men asks her before she glances over her right shoulders and fires them a hard glare.

"...and why would I not be?" Kirara angrily probes when one of her men point at her arm where blood leaks out of a now small cut.

She peers down at her arm and wonders when she acquires the scratch before he diverts her attention back to the source of the scent.

"It's alright if you come out now! I know that you are nowhere near bashful." Kirara eggs on whoever it was to step out from behind the boulder.

Jakostu leans over and whispers in one of Bankostu's ear, "I believe this chick may be a little delusional."

"No...she's not. My Banryuu is picking up on the same thing she is probably smelling right now." Bankostu replies in a nonchalant tone while Jakostu shrugs his shoulders up and down.

"If you don't want to come out then. I'll come to you." Kirara states since her patience wears thin with any type of youkais tonight.

They observe Kirara leaning her body forward before completely submerging her body in to the water and swimming to where whoever she was talking to was.

'_Why can't she draw them out? I want to see the face who makes my Banryuu act like this!' _Bankostu grumbles to himself right before Kirara removes herself from the hot springs and grabs her spare towel.

"Where is she?" Kirara abruptly asks once she comes face to face with none other than...Lord Sesshomaru.

He did not immediately respond to her question when his golden eyes fall on her arm, which begins to heal itself.

Kirara exhales a sigh before she examines the arm that has the cut on it and places it back on her side after it disappears.

She turns to face him before she clears her throat. "You know I ask because I wanted to be civil. I can pick up her scent from here along with that frog imp."

Yet no type of response was given after her statement, "Whatever. I would appreciate it if you quit following me and my men every where we go with Rin unwillingly tagging along."

"Who says I was following you? I was scooping out the landscape of the surrounding area to make sure there was no youkais around." Sesshomaru says with no infliction in his tone whatsoever.

Kirara had a smile branded on her face now when she mentioned "...or was that an excuse to come see _me_? You know its okay if you admit it."

Sesshomaru's face did not move a inch or so he thought. "Wait...is that a smile I see?" Kirara asked when she stepped closer and leaned in closer to his face.

"Hm, you still have that presence from when you first so rudely destroyed my backyard. I should come and gather the money that you own me." He retorts.

"You are still difficult as always. If I don't recall I save Ren's life on two occasions, from being poisoned and killed in her seat." Kirara calmly states while she slightly turns with her arms across her chest.

Sesshomaru just turns away her before he starts to walk in the opposite direction of where she stands.

"Humph, if you are not going then I am coming." Kirara comments with determination in her tone.

"Do you even realize what you are wearing?" Sesshomaru questioned her sensibility when he noticed that she was wrapped in that towel.

"It should not matter what I wear. If I want to see Rin then I will go see her." Kirara declares before she covers her face with her forearms due to a strong gust of wind.

'_I swear he can be such a jerk! He would not even let me go to see Rin.' _Kirara considers as she pouts before she sighs.

'_Oh well he is not the only one with tricks up their sleeves.' _She happily thinks since she already memorizes his scent on the path that he was using.

"Lady Kirara, are you alright?" "Speak to us?" "Are you still hurt?" were the random questions that were asked by her companions.

"I don't even know why you even asked me those questions. I am alright you worry wards! Well I am going to call it a night! I am quite sleepy." Kirara replies to their questions in a genuine tone.

Jakostu leans over once again to Bankostu, "I really like this girl. She has a lot of spunk to her!"

Bankostu responds in his regular tone, "This just proves that we will have to keep a close eye on this one. She isn't like the other youkai we have encounter so far. She seems to be on another class above those imbeciles like the one at the hot springs."

Jakostu stands back to see if he was really the real Bankostu, "Did I just hear you compliment someone else other then within the family or yourself?"

"What can I say? I just know when there is a strong opponent around I acknowledge it. That is simply it. It is nothing more than that." He answers Jakostu's question in a serious tone before he hops down off the fence that serves as the borderline for the women and men's bathhouse.

'_He is really in total denial.' _ Jakostu concludes before he covers his red-coated lips with his hand to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

1111

'_I wonder what was his real reason was for coming to the hot springs?' _Kirara wondered after she redressed in the clothes she wore before going bare for the hot springs.

'_Oh well he would not be Sesshomaru if he didn't act the way he does.' _She simply shrugs her shoulders up and down before she arrives at the conclusion about Sesshomaru.

'_Then there is the next player that just entered the game…Bankostu the human youkai slayer.' _ She notes before she places the wooden bin back in its original location.

'_It seems as if I am going to have to sleep with one eye open tonight. I am sure that that youkai was not traveling alone by himself. More then likely, he would have developed a following due to his large statue. So the little ones should be coming soon…' _she assumes before she rotates to the exit of the women's portion of the bathhouse.

The town was absent of any living human interaction due to the presence of the Shichinintai, who probably sent the people of the town running with their tails in between their legs.

'_Who could blame them? It is a theory that if the weak cannot protect themselves then they run with fear in their hearts yet the strong should stay rooted. There has to be someone in this town…there is no way that everyone could have left.' _Kirara analyzes while she ventures down the streets before she realizes that she was not alone.

"It's not nice to sneak up on people let alone a woman, who walks by themselves at night." Kirara voices after she comes to a stop in the middle of the street.

"I'm not surprise that you sense me when you did. After all it seems, as if neko youkais have an extreme sense of smell." The voice speaks to her before she turns to face who was with her own the street.

"It took you long enough to figure out what type I am and here I tried so well to hide my cat ears and tails. So what gave it away?" Kirara posed with a smile on her face since she already developed a feeling that he would have figured out her youkai type.

"Your eyes said it all when you emerged from the pool of water. Your pupils sharpened which increased the spread of the flames on that youkai." The person supplies an answer to Kirara's question.

"Does my presence _excite_ you? It is rare that I have such an entertaining guest that could at least guess what I really am?" Kirara asks since her curiosity starts to get the best of her.

He brands his large halberd towards her while she places her fist on her waist with an unreadable expression on her face.

"I should have known that that was the reason why you followed me. Yet, I have to tell you that fighting me at the moment is not a good idea."

"It doesn't matter to me. If you are a strong youkai then you will becoming a part of my Banryuu." The voice, that belongs to Bankostu speaks up.

Kirara merely flashes a small smile on her face while she advances forward before she disappears and materializes behind him.

Bankostu reacts and holds his Banryuu at her throat, "Well it seems as if your reactions are sharp but we should finish this some other time."

Kirara speaks as she holds her finger at a pressure point in his neck that could temporarily paralyze him. "Besides, you would have been dead with just one finger."

'_How did she get this fast? Her speed is incredible. I will have to adjust myself for the battle…maybe I do need to wait.' _Bankostu contemplates to himself before he removes his Banryuu from against her neck and with her hand vice versa.

"We will fight each other tomorrow then. So try not to run away." He orders her before he strolls off in his current direction.

Kirara looks over her shoulder before she thinks, _'Men…they are so predictable when they are jealous.' _

Her eyes fall on to the moon in the night sky before she trudges on to the hotel that they were graciously given by Bankostu and his brothers' to sleep in.

1111

Rin was still asleep when Sesshomaru arrived back to their sleeping areas, "Lord Sesshomaru, where did you go?"

"Since when do you question me on where I travel to Jaken?" Sesshomaru snapped already irritated from his encounter with Kirara.

"I apologize my Lord. I stepped out of bounds with that one, will you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Jaken apologize when he senses that he displeases his lord.

'_Pathetic.' _He thought after seeing the imp toad's reaction to displeasing him.

Sesshomaru gives one last look at Rin before he separates himself a good distance away from the group but not too far though.

'_I knew there was something off with that woman. Now, I've finally figured it out now. She is a neko youkai, who uses fire as a weapon.' _

'_That would be able to explain her ability to change her hair and eye color…' _ Sesshomaru concludes when he recalls her with blonde hair in the morning and raven black hair in the nighttime.

'_Not only that but she knows how to use her power without losing control. So how strong is she? Is she on the level with Inuyasha?' _

Those thoughts continuously ran through his head about that annoyingly wretched cat woman, who probably still hid some secrets about herself from him.

'_I can't believe she's still in my thoughts. What is wrong with me?' _Sesshomaru contemplates before he allows his mind to be at ease.

1111

Kirara was the first to awake in her group when she noticed that she had rolled out of her bed and on to the hard floor.

She felt a slight stinging sensation from her jaw before bringing her hand up to rub the pain away from it.

'_Seems as if I was fighting in my sleep again.' _ She assumes while she looks up to see that she did not even get under the covers of her bed.

'_I really must have been out of it if I did not even get under the covers.' _She rubs both of her eyes before she stretches her body out.

Kirara's fingers her hair only to discover that it sticks up all over the place, _'I really need to do something with this hair.' _

She combs her hair with her fingers before she braids her hair in to a side ponytail, _'What all happened yesterday night.' _

The images of what all happen last night rushes back to her, which gives her a slight headache.

"Wow, it seems as if I had a typical night then. I wonder when would Bankostu would like to fight me?" Kirara remembered the promise that they made last night.

'_Well I can't say that I am not excited by his offer.' _


	7. Chapter 7

Kirara scans around the area in order to make sure that no harm came to her men over the night.

'_Alright, they are good then…' _the confirmation went through Kirara's head after she checked that they were safe.

"So it seems as if you thought my brothers would come in the middle of the night and slaughter your men." A voice stated from behind her as she registered the scent as familiar.

"Why not? I mean you all do leave behind a substantial amount of evidence to back up my point." Kirara teasingly responds before she glances over one of her shoulders at Bankostu.

Bankostu jokes along with Kirara. "I guess you can say so."

There was this tension felt between the two as they continue to hold each other stares. "If you don't mind. How about we settle this affair midday…until then try not to die or get killed."

Bankostu wears a smile on his face after he hears the woman's statement, "Big words for a _woman_."

He then promptly removes himself from the presence of her and her men at the in.

'_Well then that should buy me enough time for me to get back at full strength.' _ She thinks to herself before she closed the door from where Bankostu stands.

'_I got a feeling that I may have to bring that form out against him.' _ She thought before she stares at her hand and balls it in to a fist.

1111

"Where did you go off to that quick?" Suikostu asks after he spots Bankostu ventures back to their 'hiding spot' in the village.

"I know where he went." Jakostu suddenly chimes in to Suikostu's question with a wide smile on his face.

Kyoukostu rotates toward Jakostu after he hears his brother's response to Suikostu and questions, "...and you fail to tell us that earlier, why?"

"Oh come on…it would not have been fun on my part if I revealed everyting." Jakostu states with the same smile on his face while Bankostu walks straight past them.

"So are you going to tell us?" Mukostu asks since he grows weary of all the confusion Jakostu submerges them in.

Jakostu did not appreciate the hostile tone that everyone takes toward him while he crosses his arms over his chest. "He's here now, so why don't you ask him for yourself?"

"Big brother Bankostu," Renkostu addressed him before he approached a now seated Bankostu with Banryuu placed on the side of him. "Where did you go?"

Bankostu did not immediately answers the question until he opens his eyes, "To issue a challenge to a fight."

Everyone, except Jakostu, eyes went wide from shock and awe, "He plans to fight that woman, who came in town yesterday. Suikostu you should remember her quite well…"

"Yes...Yes I do! The woman who dodge my attacks…" Suikostu reveals to the group.

"Bingo! I have a feeling that you are going to tell them what occurred last night." Jakostu confidently assumes.

"Of course, we can't keep anything away from our brothers now can we?" Renkostu needles after she listens to Jakostu's statement.

"So last night, I decided to check out the hot springs and Bankostu tagged along. We ran in to her and her companions enjoyed in its pleasures as well. It seems as if there was a demon lurking in the waters looking for its _songbird_. So the thing captures her as a hostage when our Bankostu jumps in and cuts the beast hand off, which causes her to fall in the hot springs. Then flames encircle the youkai's leg before she blasts it with a beam of fire." Jakostu verbally orchestrated all of the events that happened last night in to a child like story.

"It seems as if she has the ability to manipulate fire then…interesting. Did you determine if she is a human or a youkai that possess a human body?" Renkostu inquired about this woman, who his brother planned to fight.

"That's a question I plan to figure out today when we fight." Bankostu responses to Renkostu question.

"Oh…I can not wait to see that!" Jakostu happily exclaims with excitement in his tone.

'_Me either…I want to see the extent of her real power.' _Bankostu considers after he hears his brothers' discuss _his_ current problem.

'_Well I won't have long since it is almost time to go.' _ He thinks to himself before he closes his eyes in an attempt to take a power nap.

1111

The sun approaches the peak of the day, "Jaken…" Rin calls out to her imp toad companion, who currently holds Ah-Uh's reins.

"What is it, child?" Jaken rudely snaps at the little girl, who currently rides on Ah-Uh's saddle.

"How far are we from the next town?" Rin curiously inquires completely ignores Jaken's rude behavior toward her.

"Not too far from where Lord Sesshomaru wants us to stay for the night." He suggests while she peers up at Rin when he answers.

"Oh…" Rin comments with an expression of confusion on her face before he peers up to see that the sun was near its peak, which means it was almost midday

'_I wonder why Lord Sesshomaru insisted that we get to this village before midday.' _Jaken thought to himself before he saw the marker for the town.

"Wow…this place is so peaceful." Rin expresses her excitement as she peers in between Ah-Uh's necks to see the entrance of the village.

"Quiet down girl! You act as if this is your first time seeing a village before." Jaken irritatingly responds to Rin's question.

While they travel through the skies, Jaken could not help but to wonder, "Where did all the people in this village go?"

'_It is too quiet…I wonder why Lord Sesshomaru chose this place for a rest.' _Jaken ponders to himself since the facts did not add up.

Jaken notices a watering spot and guides Ah-Uh over to it allowing him to drink. "Rin, I want you to be on your guard. There's something about this place that I do not like."

Rin faces Jaken before she nods her head in agreement and looks left and right but says nothing. _'I wonder why he told me that.' _

1111

Kirara opts for her men to travel along with her as a just in case factor.

"Listen up, I am going to go fight the leader of the Shichinintai, Bankostu. You all will have a very critical part to play in this battle. I have a feeling that I may go over my limit and transform…if I do, do not interfere."

"...but my lady, the last time you transformed you burned down an entire village down." One of her traveling companions reminded her what happen the last time she transformed.

"Don't you think I would take that in to my precaution? These circumstances are different from that time. We are in a secluded area…the villagers are dead and there is no one in the 50 km. Your jobs will be to scatter to those place as a just in case manner."

"You are serious about this fight aren't you Lady Kirara?" one of her oldest traveling companions asks her.

Kirara did not immediately answers the question but instead physically displays her answer in the form of a nod.

"Well men, if our leader wants us to do a task for her it is the least we can do, right?" the same man, who made the previous statement posed to the group.

The men all cheer, which cause Kirara to gain a lot more confidence and a little more freedom to unleash her power without harming others.

'_So Bankostu, are you ready to get this over with?' _ Kirara poses to herself once she nears the opening of the forest where she could smell his scent.

Meanwhile,

'_If she is a demon she would be able to find me out here without much difficultly.' _ Bankostu thought to himself while he looked up at the sky.

'_It's almost time…so will you show up?' _ He wondered while he looked at the predicted entrance she was going to walk in from.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I figured that you would want to go somewhere were you won't be afraid to unleash your powers." Kirara voices before she enters in front of Bankostu's sight.

"So you think you have me all figured out, huh?" Bankostu asks her with a small smile on his face.

"Trust me, you are not the kind of guy that keeps his life as an closed book. After all, that is why you are your brothers' was the top paid mercenaries of your time." Kirara responds to his question.

"That woman sure does know her history." Jakostu jokes with his brothers' after he hears Kirara's statement.

"Well then you know about the way I fight but I think that puts us even since I was a witness to your fight." Bankostu retorts while he settles his Banryuu across the back of his neck.

"So then what are we waiting for an invitation?" Kirara suggests before they start to walk around the battlefield before the tempo changes to a run.

True to his nature, Bankostu struck first while Kirara caught it in between her hands, "So you decided to take it head on?"

Kirara felt him shift his entire weight forward and forced her to one of her knees, _'What's with this blade? It feels like carrying a freaking mountain.' _

She manages to push the blade off to the side of her before she follows up with a kick to the jaw, "You can't be serious can you?"

Bankostu rubs his jaw as if he did not feel anything while he brings his Banryuu back to his side in a diagonal fashion.

Kirara stares at him with a dull expression on her face when she feels her hands begin to throb from when she captures the blade with her bare hands.

"Alright then, it seems as if our little warm up is over with…here comes the real stuff." Bankostu promptly claims while he rapidly spins his blade over his head, which causes a yellow light to suddenly materializes.

'_So he can create lighting with the friction of his blade cutting the air.' _Kirara notes to herself before she sees him slash downward to release the lighting in her direction.

She runs from her previous location while she sees him directs it in her direction, _'I have to time this right.' _

Kirara patiently waits until she could loudly hear the lighting before she nimbly jumps over the attack and quickly dashes toward Bankostu, who merely wears a smile on his face.

'_Wow…that was close.' _Kirara thought when she avoided his midway swing before she floor swept Bankostu, who just jumped from the ground.

'_Wide open…' _Bankostu notices while he brings his free hand on to Banryuu for a downward swing.

"Crap." Kirara mutters before she rolls out of the way just in time for Bankostu to wedge Banryuu in to the ground.

Kirara feels the ground start to vibrate, _'What the world?' _she thinks before she feels her body moves on its own when she sees lighting emanates from the ground.

'_How was he able to do that without spinning his halberd?' _she wonders before she senses something from behind her.

"You are open." Kirara overhears Bankostu's voice before she something sharp grazes across her back.

"He landed a hit!" Suikostu happily mentions in a whisper tone after he witnesses the attack.

"Shut up! It's not over yet." Jakostu claimed toward Suikostu since he felt that this was not over just yet.

'_That was too easy…' _Bankostu assumes when he sees the blood drips from his Banryuu before smoke catches his attention.

Kirara capitalizes on the opportunity she makes for herself as she kicks Banryuu out of Bankostu's hand while he was in his thoughts.

"Oh…it seem as if you may have a trick or two up your sleeves." Bankostu uttered once he was brought out of his thoughts.

He studied the wound he had inflicted upon her back had healed once she rose to her feet.

"I see you have the ability to regenerate faster than a regular human being…so you eliminated yourself from human category." Bankostu rattles off.

Kirara simply wears a smile on her face after she hears his statement, "So what are you going to do with out your precious halberd?"

"She has sincerely mistaken big brother Bankostu's power without his Banryuu." Renkostu claims with a smile on his face.

'_I don't think that is it either…' _Jakostu assumes while he shakes his head at Renkostu naive statement before his attention return to the battle.

Kirara notices that Bankostu wears a smile on his face after he hears her ask that question, "Why don't you figure it out for yourself?"

She develops the sensation that he really did not need his halberd as he make her believe. However, as a precaution she opts to gauge his strength.

"So what are you waiting for?" Bankostu eggs her.


	8. Chapter 8

Jaken unexpectedly feels the hairs at the back of his neck stand up while he silently conducts surveillance on the current area that they were currently in with hopes to locate the source of his suspicious.

'_It feels as if someone is using lighting nearby.' _He inwardly assumes since his nerves seem to completely stand on end just like the hairs at his nape were every since they fly in that direction.

"Jaken, what's wrong?" Rin curiously asked after she noted that Jaken had a deep thoughtful expression on his face.

"Never mind...it is nothing to worry about anything." Jaken lied to the girl while his eyes cut over to a potential location of the source.

'_Is this why Lord Sesshomaru wanted us to come in this town for a fight?' _Jaken thought to himself.

Meanwhile with Kirara and Bankostu, _'So it seems as if he is skilled in hand to hand combat.'_

She blocked a kicked that was directed at her head with both of her forearms before she grabbed it and forced his leg down, which caused his weight to shift forward in her direction.

'_Aiming for the face?' _He assumes before he counters for his face instead Kirara aims for his stomach before she follows up with a roundhouse to his jaw.

This created some space in between the two fighters. "You know I am quite upset that I have not been able to force you to use your powers against me."

Kirara stares at him to see that he was dead serious about his statement. "Oh big brother Bankostu is right…she has not been using her powers." Renkostu states.

Jakostu could not believe how slow their second in command was, _'Duh that was the main thing.' _

A smile materializes on her face when she spots movement from the corner of her eyes before she ducks her head to avoid being hit by Banryuu.

"I thought I said from earlier that our warm up was over?" Bankostu restates before he twirls his halberd in his hand above his head.

"What if I say I am not warmed up yet?" Kirara honestly answers his question.

'_So that may be the reason why she could not use her power.' _The thought ran through Bankostu and Jakostu's head when they recalled what happened last night.

'_That's why it took her so long to respond to that youkai.' _Jakostu concludes to himself while his brothers watch in anticipation that Bankostu was the winner.

_'I am going to let him believe that lie as long as he wants.' _She coyly mentions to herself while she firmly takes a stance against Bankostu.

He jumped in to the air without any hesitation but this time he spun his halberd and created lighting.

Kirara shifted her stance so that her feet were shoulder width apart with her left arm up with her right arm straight behind her.

'_She's about to use her power…' _Jakostu and Bankostu predict when Kirara closes her eyes.

Bankostu watches as rocks from the ground breaks apart from the ground as the lighting strikes the rocks instead of Kirara.

"_She is making use of her surroundings…just how far along is your combat skills." _Sesshomaru regards while he witnesses the battle unfold before his eyes.

Kirara smelt a familiar scent that belonged to none other than the dog youaki, except for Sesshomaru. _'So it seems as if our battle has attracted more spectators.' _

"Alright then…" she saying more to herself before closing her eyes concentrating on harnessing her powers.

Bankostu and the spectators watch in awe when flames encircle her body and causes her hair to float upward with a dent that grows in the ground.

'_She's not manipulating fire…she's creating it.' _Renkostu deduces to himself while he admires the woman's flames that encircles her.

Bankostu grew excited at the sight before his eyes as Kirara tapped in to her powers, when she opened her eyes to show that they were white.

She punches the ground and creates a rip in the ground before geysers of flames erupt from the crack.

Banksotu spun his Banryuu and released a red light from the tip that sliced through the flames. Kirara raised her left hand before the light connected to create smoke.

'_Where did you go?_' He wonders to himself while he searches around in the smoke for any sudden movement from his opponent.

He felt something grab his ankles before he peered down to see Kirara grabbed his ankles before she pulled him down toward the ground.

She had the advantage due to how close they were; she connected with his thigh to force him down to one knee before she punches him in the face before he falls on his back.

Kirara can feel her reach her limit, _'I got to quickly end this…' _

"Good, we are making progress somewhere." Bankostu uttered before he rose to his feet and reached for his Banryuu.

'_How can he still have this much power?_' she wonders when she dodges a swing from Banryuu when she sees that he follows with an upper slash that catches her forearm. '_It's as if he has gain more speed…_' she assumes after she feels the cut on her arm.

"Come on now…I don't want you to ease up on me now." Bankostu utters before he switches his Banryuu to his opposite hand.

'_No…he has been keeping this as his ace in the hole.' _She concluded when she avoided another downward slash before landing on her hands.

Kirara used her new position that she was in and channeled some flames downward to her feet. It causes a ring of fire to appear before it connects to Bankostu's body.

She saw him reach for this halberd's hilt, removed himself from the ground before he dragged his blade against the ground, and caused rocks to fly upwards.

Kirara used that to her advantage and kicked them in the direction of Bankostu, who only blocked it with his Banryuu.

'_She is reaching her limit.' _He judges after he spots Kirara's shoulders heave up and down.

"Banryuu" Kirara sees purple light instead of yellow bends around the rocks and catches her off-guard.

'_He managed to get a hit in but was it enough?' _Jakostu wonders to himself after he watches the move Bankostu makes against Kirara.

"He got a hit in." Kyoukostu joyfully proclaims.

Bankostu's eyes finally catch a glimpse of Kirara's body straighten out on the ground with her back toward him.

'_And so we end it…' _Bankostu assumes to himself before he settles his Banryuu on his neck while he studies the result of his move.

'_It's not over with…' _Sesshormaru thought with his eyes closed and Jakostu shared the same thought as well.

"Yeah big brother Bankostu won!" Renkostu sounds more like a little child then a high ranking solider.

'_There he goes again…jumping to conclusions again.' _Jakostu notes while he rubs his head with his hand at Renkostu's statement.

All of a sudden flames engulfed Kirara's entire body, "Oh it seems as if she is having her rebirth."

"Is it me or did it get hotter?" Mukostu ponders while he fans himself with one of his hands.

"We need to get Ginkostu out of here. Renkostu, do you have any gunpowder on you?" Jakostu quickly inquires while he stares at his brothers.

"We already put Ginkostu a good distance away from us and I did not bring any due to you telling me that she could use fire." Renkostu supplies Jakostu's question.

'_Good because from here on…we have to be ready for anything now…' _Jakostu thought when his eyes fell on to the burning woman.

Bankostu noticed that her skin had melted off her body completely leaving nothing but flames, _'I wonder what would come out now?' _

The temperature in their vicinity continues to escalate to a dangerous high, _'She's entering her demon's stage.'_

A white leg with black fur at the bottom emerges and then another leg steps out of the flames. Next was a black snout then more white fur, red eyes with black pupils, a black diamond, black tipped ears, and more white fur along with two tails that each have two black stripes.

'_So that is her demon form?' _Everyone assumed as they marveled at how Kirara looked in her demon's form.

"Ah she is so cute in her demon form…" Jakostu happily claimed with hearts as his eyes when he saw how she looked.

'_Wow she is huge…' _Bankostu thinks since he has to look up at Kirara and estimates that she was a medium size demon.

'_She is a full breed youaki.' _Sesshomaru concludes after he studies Kirara in her true form.

'_It seems as if Lady Kirara has activated her demon form.' _One of her men thought after he caught sight of white fur from their location.

'_This should be interesting then…' _Bankostu's grip around his Banryuu tightened out of anticipation at whats could happen next.

Kirara lifts her foot, slams it back down, and creates a shockwave for those who are on the ground.

Sesshomaru chose this as the perfect time to intervene in the situation, "I will step in from here since you are unable to handle this kind of situation, _human_."

"And what do you plan on doing then?" Bankostu shouted, as he was angered that he was being interrupted in the middle of his battle by none other than the Lord of the West, Sesshomaru.

"Unless you can transform into a larger animal then you don't have a chance." Sesshomaru proclaimed with his eyes now blood shot red and his pupils light purple.

Kirara peers down to see Sesshomaru and Bankostu converse with each other when flames emit from her feet as the forest became ablaze from her flame output.

'_I did not want to grow this big…I wonder what happened.' _ She ponders when she senses that something was wrong.

"Bankostu," Jakostu calls out from behind the bush as a means to catch his raven-haired brother's focus.

"This is no longer a human's fight. This will be a clash between two full fledged demons." Jakostu firmly warns his brother.

'_I can't believe that he was using me.' _Bankostu annoyingly thinks to himself when he watches as a white light engulfs Sesshomaru.

'_It seems as if I will take a time out here.' _

Kirara spots a white dog with a wild mane similar to hers with a wild bushy tail. She notices it has red eyes with the distinctive purple crescent moon on its forehead.

'_What is that leaking from his mouth?' _she wonders when she observes green liquid emanates from its mouth.

Sesshomaru opens his mouth in order to release a loud howl that shakes the earth before he assumes an offensive stance against Kirara.

'_Just great…I was trying to fight him…wait a minute what am I thinking? This is a golden opportunity to make a scratch on his face.' _She contemplates to herself.

She mirrors his stance except on the opposite foot while she tries to bait him with her claw so he would make the first move.

Yet he did not budge with her attack when she realized that he wanted her to do that so she could touch that green liquid from his mouth.

'_What is it?' _she asks when she sees it drip onto the earth and burns a hole in it, _'It's acid!' _

'_She's open.' _ Sesshomaru executes his move and forces Kirara on her back as it causes some trees in the forest to flatten underneath her weight.

'_Oh…I did not really expect him to interrupt my fight like he did…' _Kirara thought when she saw a shadow on her before she realized that Sesshomaru had pinned her underneath him.

'_So he thinks he is the big dog then…' _Kirara was thinking before shifting her feet underneath his belly, forcing his claws from the ground and pushing him off of her.

Kirara shakes her head while she rises to her feet when she feels the earth rattles underneath her. She peers up to see that Sesshomaru charges at her once again.

She dropped her mouth as a fireball amassed there before she fired it off at Sesshomaru.

He continues to charge at her before he slashes it in half with his tail. The two spheres now set two parts of the forest aflame.

Kirara's eyes hone in on to his tail as it points in her direction when she observes its fur change to smaller and almost invisible needles.

She jumps in the air to dodge the small projectiles before she utilizes her flames to propel her forward in Sesshomaru's direction.

Kirara predicted that Sesshomaru had opened his mouth in hope that she landed on him only to be burn by the acid in his mouth.

'_Crap…' _she remarks while she changes direction before impact and instead lands on the side of Sesshomaru and bares her teeth.

Before she could get any closer, she was slapped in the face with his tail and caused her to stumble over a little bit before she lost her footing.

'_I won't lose…' _


	9. Chapter 9

Kirara can feel her energy depleting fast due to her strenuous fight with Bankostu and now she had to face off against Sesshomaru in their demon's form would sure enough put her at a disadvantage.

'_She has passed all of my expectations…by now she should have been feeling a wave of fatigue from her battle with Bankostu.' _Sesshomaru thought as he had plan to wait it out before landing the final blow against her.

'_Get it together…I can't go down yet.' _ Kirara thought to herself.

She had willed herself back on to her feet when they faced off against another again. This time they were walking in a circle waiting for the other to strike first.

Kirara's two tails separates from one another before producing a fireball and slaps it in Sesshomaru's direction.

Sesshomaru merely just cut that in half with his tail when he sees that Kirara running behind her attack.

She hops onto his tail before knocking him over with a good tackle forcing him to the forest floor.

Before she can move to finish him off, he pushes her off with his tail as they both heave up and down showing that they were both tired.

Kirara sees that Sesshomaru recovers first then she did and was now on a path in her direction. _'I just want to lay down for a nap.' _

Sesshomaru notes that Kirara did not make any sudden movement after that and had even slows down to a stroll in her direction.

When he made his way over to where she had laid down he noticed that she had turned her head away from him in shame and so she could up hold her pride.

Kirara feels Sesshomaru's intense stare at her as she finds it irritating since she could not handle two fights in one and mentally beats herself up for not being strong enough to take down at least one of her enemies.

She felt something nudge at her side when she turned to see that it was Sesshomaru who was trying to help her back up on her feet.

'_What is he doing?' _Kirara thought to herself since what she saw was completely out of character for the cold-hearted Lord of the West Sesshomaru.

'_It seems as if he won't live me alone if I do not stand up.' _She inwardly sighs to herself before rising to her feet after the nudge from Sesshomaru.

Bankostu and his brothers observes the rest of the battle from a distance. "I can't believe that white haired dog used me as a puppet!"

'_You are just upset that you didn't get to go up against her in her demon form!' _Jakostu knew the authentic reason why Bankostu was so upset when they saw a bright white and a red orange light.

"It seems as if they have returned to their regular human forms." Renkostu states after getting a good look of the battlefield while atop Ginkostu along with Mukostu.

"That was an intense battle between those two." Suikostu states while holding up one of his clawed hands with a clench fist.

1111

'_I wonder if all those earthquakes was from that lighting feeling that I had a couple of minutes ago?' _Jaken asks himself after enduring about six earthquakes before asking Ah-Uh to take flight.

Rin enjoys flying Ah-Uh and would often time look at her surroundings to see the full landscape that was around her.

'_That is a large hole…' _Rin thought when her eyes fell on to an opening in the forest when she swore she saw the figures of Lord Sesshomaru and…Kirara.

Rin knew that if she mention Kirara's name then Jaken would not allow her to go so instead she knew the next best thing "I see Lord Sesshomaru."

"Where do you see Lord Sesshomaru, insolent child?" Jaken ask when he immediately takes hold of the reigns with a sense of urgency after hearing Lord Sesshomaru's name from Rin's mouth.

Rin wears a grin on her face after realizing that her plan works out perfectly. _'That was so much easier then I thought it would have been.' _

When she felt Ah-Uh change in midair, she saw Lord Sesshomaru and the figure she assumed was Kirara still in the opening.

Kirara laid out on the ground with not even enough energy to open her eyes since she used all of her energy in her demon form against Sesshomaru.

She smells his scent becoming stronger and stronger as well as the sound of footsteps against the forest floor, which means he was coming closer and closer to her.

'_Oh great…he came over to rub it in my face.' _Kirara thought to herself while she mentally prepared herself for any crude or snide remarks he was going to say to her.

"You finally demonstrated your worth to me." She hears him say as she could feel him looking down on her even with her eyes close.

As much as she wanted to argue with Sesshomaru she was tuckered out and just wanted to curl up and take a nice long cat nap.

"Before you fall asleep, you will wake up in the care of Rin. When I feel that you are well enough. I will tell you what I have to say then." He tells her when he sees her eyelids move showing that as a sign she hears everything he says.

Kirara feels herself relax as she allows her mind to drift off into her fantasy paradise while Sesshomaru bends down and takes the woman within his arms.

"What is it that you want now, Bankostu?" Sesshomaru asks in a nonchalant tone after seeing the human emerge from the forest.

"I didn't appreciate you using me as a puppet for your own use! I issued a challenge to her fair and square. Since you violate it on your own terms that means I will still have to settle the fight with her." Bankostu answers voicing the reason why he was still there.

"That would not be needed." Sesshomaru states with firmness in his tone when he finds Kirara was surprisingly light in his arms.

Bankostu did not like the fact that someone who had no initial claim in the fight in the first place was shooting down his idea.

"Why not? It is not like she is your property or your mate? So it should be left to the participants, who were initially called into the battle." Bankostu just wanted to come to an agreement since he felt robbed of his fight with the fire wielding cat youkai in Sesshomaru's arms.

Sesshomaru closes his eyes and with a "hem" he starts his walk before passing Bankostu.

"You are not worthy of fighting a full-fledge youkai. If you could not even figure out if she was a human, being possessed or was not of your race." Sesshomaru says over his shoulders before taking off into the sky with Kirara in tow.

"He sure did let you down easy." Jakostu states appearing after Sesshomaru had left from within their area.

His eyes cut over to see Bankostu was laughing to himself after hearing Sesshomaru's statement. "Whether I liked how it ended or not, Sesshomaru's was going to claim _his _prize no matter who was in his way. I just feel sorry for the poor girl."

Jakotsu looks at his brother with a confuse look on his face, _'What does he mean by that?' _

1111

Kirara drifted along in her sleep before being surrounded by a circle of flames before seeing a group of people within the flame circle.

'_Who are these people?' _Kirara thought to herself as none of their faces seem familiar to her. While she scans over the children's, adults and even the elderly when Rin's face stands out to her.

"Rin, what are you doing?" Kirara asks her after spotting the young girl among the crowd when she takes a step forward.

The people's eyes glows white before disappearing and reappearing around her as some of them grabs onto her as if they were leeches.

"How could you?" "I thought you did not want to hurt me?" "I thought you wanted to protect me?" "Why did you burn our village?" "I was enjoying my break from being sick?" "Why did you have to use your powers?" "Why?" "Why?" "Why?"

The flames that were made of the circle closed in on her and the ghosts that held on to her were speaking in unison, "Now you will die as we have."

Kirara was reaching for what little light she sees but finds that she could not reach it and that the ghosts were dragging her down further away from the light.

"Get off of me!" She tries to resist but it seems as if their grips grew tighter the more she resists against them.

She sat up quickly breathing hard with sweat rolling down her forehead while she brings her knees to her chest causing the bedspread to constrict under her weight.

'_It smells like…incense.' _Kirara thought to herself when she smelt what smells like burning rosewood.

She looks around to see a burning incense stick, it was prop above a silver plate when some of it fell into the plate.

'_Where am I?' _Kirara thought when she notices that she was lying on a white futon in a small room with a light blue bowl that was filled with water along with a folded towel floating in it.

She hears footsteps coming before hearing the knob turning and a bright light blinds her.

"Ms. Kirara, it is good to see that you are awake?" a familiar voice spoke from the blinding light when she remembered something told to her before she fell asleep.

"_Before you fall asleep, you will wake up in the care of Rin when I feel that you are well enough I will tell you what I have to say then."_

'_That's right I did get into a fight with both Bankostu and then Sesshomaru in my demon form.' _ She recollected what happened to her.

"Rin, what time is it?" Kirara asks when the sight of a brown haired little girl with an orange kimono walks into the room.

"It is almost night time. Are you sure you got enough sleep?" Rin asks when she notices that Ms. Kirara hair was still blonde and her eyes were black.

"How long was I out?" Kirara inquires before lying back down on the futon while Rin takes a seat next to her.

"A day or so. Lord Sesshomaru said that you would be awake by the second day. I am not surprised that he is not right." Rin answers Kirara's question while wringing out the white towel that sat in the bowl.

'_Just like him to show his superiority…' _"How long have you been taking care of me?"

"The entire time. That was my first time leaving your side so I could get some more medicine just in case." Rin answers with a smile before placing the towel on Kirara's forehead.

Kirara lifts her arm and rubs her hand across Rin's head of hair silently thanking the girl for her genuine concern for her health.

"Thanks. It seems as if I owe you one now." Kirara states before bringing her arm back down to her side.

Rin nods her head; "I don't think that my debt to you will ever be repaid since you did save my life not once but _twice_."

Kirara looked at her weird as she remember that the second time she had saved her was when she was fast asleep unless, "Lord Sesshomaru told me a couple of minutes after you had left."

Her eyes falls on to the ceiling after hearing what Rin just told her, _'So it seems as if he does not keep her in the dark about certain things.' _

Rin hears Kirara stomach growl at her for being dormant and not feeding it, "I am sure you are well enough to move around, if not I can bring your food to you."

Before Rin could move Kirara stops the child, "How about we go together? I am sure that _he_ would be expecting me there anyway."

Rin wears a wide smile on her face before nodding her head in a yes manner before assisting Kirara to her feet.

Meanwhile in the dining room, Jaken was flipping out about what all had transpired a day ago.

"So that lighting that I felt yesterday was from that woman and her fight with the Shichinintai leader, Bankostu?" Jaken asks his Lord who was meditating at the moment.

Jaken was not surprise that he did not receive an answer from Lord Sesshomaru since he already knows that Lord Sesshomaru would always treat him as a subordinate.

"That stupid woman put everyone around her in danger when she started to use her powers so reckless." Jaken exclaims towards his Lord, who was clearly ignoring him.

Jaken feels something against his head knocking him forward, "Hey you stupid imp, if you have something to say about me then say it in my presence."

'_Ouch...ouch...ouch…what did she hit me with?' _Jaken thought before looking over to see what it was that she had threw at him. He sees that it was a black tea kettle while rubbing his bruised head.

"Besides you would never know what it would be like to me you ugly reject of a frog." Kirara stated with her arms across her chest.

Jaken seemed to bounce back with hidden fire after being hit in the head by Kirara when he had turned to face her.

"It seems as if I have upset the imp now…what are you going to do about it then?" Kirara throws the bait knowing that in his current state he will take it.

"Jaken…" Sesshomaru calls out to the imp who immediately turns back around and kneels towards him.


	10. Chapter 10

"Ah and here I thought you were going to bit my head off…" Kirara sounded a little disappointed when she made her way into the dining room after Rin.

Sesshomaru rise to his feet and makes his way pass Jaken who were still kneeling on the ground towards where Kirara stands.

He grabs her arm and guides her out of the house and leaves Rin and Jaken in the dining room by themselves.

"Hey, if you want me to follow you somewhere you can have just told me." Kirara answers him while trying to pull her elbow away from the inu-youkai's hand.

She notices that they were no longer in the house that he set them up in. "I would really _love_ to have my arm back."

He releases her a couple of minutes after she had asks showing that he was going to eventually let her go but rather on his own accord.

"Care to explain to me why I was fighting you instead of Bankostu?" Kirara asked him when she realized that they were not to far away from Rin.

'_Good at least I can relax a little…' _Kirara thought to herself before exhaling a sigh of relief when she realizes that Sesshomaru had not answer her question.

"Well then, I hope you know that you had brought Rin in a very dangerous situation if you knew that I was going to be using that form." Kirara says before the thoughts from her nightmare came rushing back to her again.

"That was my reason for fighting you." Sesshomaru states in a firm tone after hearing Kirara's statement.

'_For some reason I just can't believe that…' _Kirara thought to herself when she notices that the moon's light makes Sesshomaru's hair look like the color of snow.

She mentally slaps herself for allowing that thoughts to go through her head. _'This is Sesshomaru we are talking about…the acid mouth mutt who likes to use his status against others.'_

"As I said before you had proven your worth in the fight and I made Bankostu detour the idea of a rematch against you." Sesshomaru claim, still not looking at her while speaking but rather was looking at something else instead.

Kirara was irritated at that fact, "If we are going to have a conversation then the polite thing you should do is to at least face me. My thing is how are you going to interject yourself in between what Bankostu and I had plan?"

"You were so busy with trying to prove a point that you did not see what was around your neck." Sesshomaru states with a smile on his face.

He turns his head in her direction since he wants to see her reaction to what exactly it was.

"My neck?" Kirara pause in her question before raising her hand up to her neck and felt something was indeed there.

She looks down to see a red collar with a yellow bell dangling from it, "Eh what is the meaning of this?"

She tried to pull it off but the thing was stuck and it did not budge at all from her pulling at it.

"Sesshomaru you better tell me the meaning of this before I burn your precious hair…" Kirara was angry that whatever it was would not come off.

"Why would you kill the only person who can take it off? That is not very bright of you." Sesshomaru answers while enjoying her attempts in removing her collar.

Kirara pauses in her efforts, "So what you are telling me is that no matter how hard I struggle that this thing won't come off because it has magic in it?"

He did not immediately provide an answer to her question while he sees her tucker herself from trying to remove the collar off of her.

"I have a feeling that there is a reason why you put this thing on me! At least tell me why do I need this collar?" She inquires on how exactly she obtain the collar.

"It's a collar that was passed down in my family and was instructed for us to use in certain occasions…" "So are you going to get to the point or not?" "Well the use of this collar is used when we want to pick a mate."

Kirara was nodding her head the entire way through but the last word catches her off guard, "Wait a minute, what was that last word that you just use? Because I know I didn't just hear the word _mate_ come out of your mouth."

He then sees her really trying her hardest to rip the thing from her neck not caring if she could breath or not, "Now I really don't want this thing on at all!"

"Kirara. Stop tugging." Sesshomaru orders her when she finds herself removing her hands from the collar without a second thought.

"Oh you got to be kidding me…" Kirara states after seeing what just unfold before her very own eyes.

'_Was that a smile that I just sees on his face…' _she thought to herself when she could have sworn she saw a quick stretch of his blank smile appear on his face.

Kirara had to think of a way to get away from him so she walks toward him before running past him and into the forest leaving Sesshomaru in his current spot.

He shakes his head at how Kirara naively thinks before giving her from the count of thirty before he ruins her fun.

'_You can't be serious. Why would he think I want to be his…' _she fakes a gag as she covers at least two and a half miles while still going at a fast pace.

'_I wonder if I could just hide out here for a minute.' _She thought to herself.

'_I think I gave her enough time…' _Sesshomaru thought before closing his eyes to enjoy the slight breeze that pass through.

"Kirara," he whispers when Kirara finds the bell on her neck had rung as its causing her to slow down afterwards.

'_What is it now?' _Kirara ask herself while she sees the bell moves on its own accord.

"Turn around." Kirara finds her body stop then turns back in the direction she just runs from a couple of minutes ago.

'_Don't tell me…' _the thought passes through her head, "Run back towards me."

Kirara finds herself running back in the same direction she was going except this time it was not under her free will.

Sesshomaru glances up at the moon before hearing some rustling from the direction Kirara just ran from to see her coming straight back towards him.

"You know you can stop now." Sesshomaru gave another order, which halted her immediately in her tracks except for the forward momentum.

"I believe you are enjoying this a little too much." She says with her face implants in the ground before looking up at Sesshomaru.

"Whether you like it or not it is no longer your decision, now we should be heading back. I could hear your stomach growling at you the entire time while you were on your run." He reminds her of her aching stomach when she can feel the pains coming back to her.

'_Just great…' _

1111

"Ms. Kirara, are you sure you don't want to slow down a little…you might choke on your food." Rin warns the older woman to her left who seem to not be chewing instead rather swallowing down the food whole.

"Rin, its obvious you can't turn a wild cat into a house pet." Jaken states before skillfully using his chopsticks to place rice in his mouth.

"Hey imp," Kirara points her chopsticks at Jaken with fierceness and then to Sesshomaru, "I am trying to kill myself over here so I won't be bother with you or him at the end of that table."

"Ms. Kirara, you can't be serious about that." Rin says after hearing what Kirara just told Jaken.

Kirara looked at Rin's eyes and saw sadness after she heard what she said. "Did I say trying to kill myself…what I really meant was fill myself with this delicious food."

She laughs while scratching the back of her head when she saw that Rin had accepted it caused her to release a sigh in relief. _'That was a close one…' _

"It is good food don't you think?" Rin asks her while her sights faces back onto the dining room table and to finishing her meal.

"Yes, the best that I have eaten in some days!" Kirara proclaims to Rin while still laughing while her thoughts goes back to her group of men that were probably wondering where she was at the moment.

'_I wonder if they are all back in town yet?' _she thought to herself when she remembers the plan she issues to them before she was about to fight Bankostu.

She places her bowl of rice back on the table with her eyes downcast. _'I could have easily kill them yet they decide to put their lives on the line for me.' _

Sesshomaru notes the sudden change in Kirara personality after calming Rin down from her statement about trying to kill herself by choking to death.

"Excuse me, the meal was delicious and I am grateful for it! I will be checking up on something so I will be back later." Kirara says before bowing her head and removing herself from the group.

She pauses and turns towards Rin, "Try not to wait up for me. I will be back okay." She says while rubbing her head.

Kirara did not even bother looking at Sesshomaru when she left, as the last thing he sees of her was her retreating back.

1111

Kirara walks down the three wooden boards that serves as steps to the house that Rin and her buddies were using for the moment as temporary shelter.

She strolls out on to the main road while her eyes scans the area and finds that it was barely damage due to her flames or her fight with Sesshomaru.

A sigh of relief escapes her mouth before relaxing her shoulders while her feet guides her back to the hotel when she thought about what just happened.

'_I really tried to kill myself with that food!' _Kirara could not help but laugh at how immature she was handling the situation.

'_After all, it is not everyday that you are told that you are going to be someone's mate…especially not the Lord of the West…Sesshomaru.' _She thought while she picks up a familiar human scent.

"You…that wasn't nice on how you turned your attention away from me to that Sesshomaru dude." The voice speaks to her while she stops in her tracks.

"Trust me, I didn't even know he was there…" Kirara lied when she knew that Sesshomaru was there all along even before she had transformed into her demonic form.

Bankostu did not like that answer whatsoever when he had pointed his halberd, Banryuu, at her neck. "You are a full fledge youkai! There is no way you can lie to me when you knew he was there all along."

"Well then are you upset that my attention was turned to the one who could match me in my skills? Obviously, you allowed him to interrupt our battle and then pushed you out." Kirara responded not even flinching when he held the halberd to her neck.

"If you are really upset then here is the chance you will get to kill me or better yet I will give you the chance to do it." Kirara said while stepping closer towards the blade allowing herself to get cut.

She knew that he was not going to back down easily but at the moment she did not care of the fact her blood stained Banryuu.

She welcomed the fact that her head was going to be chopped off by Bankostu so she would not have to be with Sesshomaru.

'_It seems as if she was serious about what she said.' _Bankostu said when he noticed that her eyes was hard when she spoke to him.

"It would be such a bother if you are _willing_ to kill yourself without dying by my hands in battle." Bankostu speaks while placing his halberd back on his shoulders.

'_I was so close in having him hack my head off…ugh!' _she thought with frustration evident on her face.

Kirara just pushes pass the raven-haired leader of the Shichinintai, as there was only one thing that she wants to do and that was to check up on her men.

'_Her hair and her eyes are different from this morning. I guess that is her ability from her being a demon.' _ He thought to himself when he watched her retreating back walking down the road.

1111

"Lord Sesshomaru, do you know where Ms. Kirara is going?" Rin asks Sesshomaru, who just finish eating his dinner.

"You stupid girl! What makes you ask Lord Sesshomaru that question for?" Jaken belittles the girl after hearing her question for Sesshomaru.

"She went to go visit those who travels with her to tell them some news." Sesshomaru answers which immediately shut Jaken up seeing as he did respond to Rin's question.

"Oh, I thought she was leaving again like last time. I wonder what was so important that she could not just wait until tomorrow." Rin states to herself but hears by both Jaken and Sesshomaru.

"You shouldn't worry about that woman! She won't come around here anymore if she knows what is good for her!" Jaken threatens.

"Ms. Kirara is a nice person but you don't know that because you never gave her a chance to show it. She could have easily allowed me to be killed by a youkai instead of sacrificing and going out of the way _twice _to save my life." Rin states after hearing what Jaken says about Kirara.

Jaken was shock at Rin's outspokenness and silently blames it on that woman who was slowly changing Rin into someone like her.

'_I wonder how her men will take the news?' _Sesshomaru silently thought to himself.


	11. Chapter 11

Kirara made her way into the abandon hotel that her and her men used as a temporary refuge and shelter.

'_Well I do smell people...' _she thought to herself before rolling the cold golden metal in her fingers carefully so it won't ring.

Upon entering she heard her men cheering and clapping for her when she looks to see that everyone had made it back safe and sound.

"Lady Kirara," one with silver hair stated while they all took a knee in her presence.

This action brought a smile on her face, "You all don't have to do that. I am so glad all of you made it back safe and sound."

"Of course…we made a promise that none of us will be dying on this mission!" she heard a voice shout over the crowd.

"Lady Kirara, we use this to show respect for you. Since you did take each and every one of us under your wing and made sure no harm came to either one of us." The silver haired man answered.

Kirara felt her heart swell after hearing what Makoto had told her as all of her men nodded their heads to show that they agreed.

"We're glad to see that you are doing alright. We all saw your demonic form from the villages you sent us too." Makoto claimed while looking at Kirara.

This caused her to unknowingly stiff up, "Are you alright Lady Kirara? You look a little pale. Toshu bring her up a seat."

Kirara took the seat when her eyes scanned among the faces of concern and worry when she realized that she had to tell them eventually.

"Yeah I'm fine. It is just that I went through a lot in the last couple of hours." Kirara answered them in a roundabout manner.

"You mean with the people who were taking care of you?" Makoto asked his fearless leader.

She nodded her head when she found herself reaching for her neck again; Kenichi noticed that she had something around her neck.

"Lady Kirara if you don't mind entertaining this question…" Kenichi paused in the middle of his sentence waiting for her confirmation.

Once he received he proceeded with asking his question, "Where'd you get that collar from? If I remember you weren't one for jewelry…let only collars."

This caused her eyes to downcast after hearing Kenichi question before clearing her throat. "That is because…"

1111

Bankostu decided to head back to his thinking place after he saw that defeated look in that woman's eyes.

'_When I fought her she was not backing down and actually gave me a run for my money.' _Bankostu thought with his index finger underneath his chin.

'_So now all of a sudden she looks as if she can't carry on…as if she committed a great sin that can not be erased from her slate?' _he asked himself when he thought of that as ridiculous.

He had placed his rump on a flat rock after he leaned back to look up at the stars when he heard some rustling in the bushes before seeing Jakostu emerged from the bush.

"It's weird how I am always the one to stumble on to you when you are in a heap of mess. I think the God's are trying to make my life miserable. What is it this time?" Jakostu asked his brother after making his way down to where he was.

"Do demons feel human emotions as we do?" Bankostu asked his brother while looking up at the night sky full of stars and the waning moon.

Jakostu looked at his brother with a confused look on his face, "I mean from my experiences the one that shows the most emotions are often the ones that end up being killed first due to them being weak…except for that woman you fought yesterday afternoon." Jakostu answered while going through his thoughts.

"Oh…" Jakostu nudge his brother's side with his foot, "Are you interested in that demon woman?"

Banksotu released a breath while closing his eyes, "No…it is not often that you see demons who has a lot of powers wishing to have a good spar one minute and then wanting to die the next."

Jakostu shrugged his shoulders at Bankostu as he was looking to deep into the smallest things. "Who cares if she wants to fight one minute and then kill herself the next? It is not as if she is effecting us in any manner."

"If you wanted to know her reasons so badly that it has you thinking this hard about it, why didn't you ask her for yourself?" Jakostu asked his brother.

"As if I wanted to know about her feelings. I just wanted to approach her about the fight and what all happened. I did not ask for anything other then that yet I got it." Bankostu complained.

"That is just the human side of you…curiosity. After all it is human nature to be curious about something it doesn't know." Jakostu claim while sounding quite wise when he gave advice to Bankostu.

He saw Bankostu with an eerie smile on his face that crept him out. "It is just funny how we switched roles that quickly."

Jakostu allowed what Bankostu told him to sink in before laughing at the statement, "You think so? I mean I am getting better thanks to you."

1111

"That is because…I have been chosen as someone's partner." Kirara announced to her men as strange looks passed on their face.

"What do you mean partner? As in someone's fighting partner or is it something else?" Toshu spoke up first asking for a clear explanation.

Kirara shook her head in a no fashion, "It seems as if someone found me to be compatible as a partner in reference to as a…_mate_."

Silence captured the men, as they could not think of anyone in the world who would be able to make their leader submit unless they were stronger then she was.

Makoto looked among the men when he could tell that everyone was on the same though process, "Who is it?"

Kirara scanned the room once more before removing her hand from the bell causing it to jingle when she gave her answer.

'_It seems as if she told them…' _Sesshomaru thought as he could hear her voice saying his name.

All of their faces either held shock, awe, and majority of them were unreadable. She noted that some had fainted while others placed their back against the wall and some just flat out fell on their butts.

"It happened when I was fighting Bankostu. It seems as if he was hiding in the forest waiting for me to turn into my demonic form, which gave him an excuse to use his. We battled to the point that I was exhausted and could not even stand up."

"I had used so much power that I was exhausted. He had someone take care of me and that is when he slipped this collar around my neck that won't come off unless he takes it off. So I am stuck in this current position." Kirara ran down all what she knew that happened to her within the last two or three hours.

They all sat still and digested everything that she told them with unreadable looks on their face.

Kirara rose from her seat when that action seemed to have snapped her men out of their thoughts.

"So do you have to go back to him tonight?" Kenichi asked her after seeing her rise to her feet.

"Unfortunately…I do whether I want to do it or not. So while I still have my own freewill I should head back." Kirara sounded disappointed when answering Kenichi's question.

"At least he allowed you to check up on us even if it was for a little while." Makoto stated as Kirara could hear gratefulness in his tone.

"Well then have a safe trip back, Lady Kirara." Her men said in unison.

Kirara nodded her head and accepted their salutations; "You all get some sleep since I am sure that tomorrow will be a busy day."

"Yes ma'am" was the last thing she heard from them before she closed the door behind her.

1111

Kirara noticed that she had made all of her rounds when she saw the moon waning in the night sky.

'_Of all the demons in the world I had to be the unlucky one to get this freaking collar.' _She thought while looking down at the collar.

'_Well they took the news a little smoother then I thought but their reactions were what I knew would tell the story that I really wanted.' _Kirara thought to herself when she remembers each one of her men's faces.

When she was approaching the house where Sesshomaru was she could smell his scent strongly which means he very close by.

She saw him sitting outside underneath the house's porch while on a pillow with his legs crossed and eyes closed.

'_It is not just his hair but his skin looks really pale when the moon hits his face.' _She thought before mentally slapping herself for thinking of something like that…again.

"You know for a minute there I was about to call you back but when I heard you say my name I assumed that you told your comrades the news." Sesshomaru spoke with his eyes still closed.

'_How did he know that?' _she thought when she remembered that she did ring the bell before telling her subordinates who made her their mate.

'_So he can listen in on my having a conversation about him if I ring the bell?' _Kirara thought to herself while looking down at the collar.

"Besides, I did not think that you would have had the heart to lie to Rin like that since you see her as a little sister towards you." Sesshomaru noted.

"What I say and what I do have no means for you. So stay out of my freaking mouth." Kirara's voice was filled with irritation before making her way up the small steps and slammed the door behind her.

'_Well it seems as if I made someone upset.' _Sesshomaru thought after hearing Kirara's statement and the door slamming.

'_If he can hear me then if I say his name when I ring the bell then I hope he can hear this…' _Kirara thought to herself when she flicked the bell.

"Sesshomaru, you arrogant bastard!" she exclaimed when she heard a thud from outside.

'_Humph…that should even up the score…' _she thought with a smile before finding her way back to the room she was in when she woke up from that morning.

1111

Morning seemed to roll by a little faster for Kirara when she noted that Rin had found a way in her room and had curled up next to her.

"Mama," she heard Rin in her sleep when she noticed that Rin was crying.

'_This is my first time that I have ever seen Rin cry.' _Kirara thought to herself before she turned to face the sleeping Rin.

"Shush, its alright. I am here for you." Kirara said in a soothing manner while pushing back a strand of her fallen hair.

"Rin it's time to wake up now. You don't want to stay inside on a beautiful day like this." Kirara told Rin once a couple of minutes pass, as she had clutched on to Kirara.

She saw her eyes were slow to open and could tell by the tears on her face and the large wet spot on her pillow that she had cried herself to sleep.

"Hey there," "Good morning" Kirara greeted Rin, who rubbed her eyes dry of her tear-stained face.

Before Rin could return the greeting she was interrupt by Jaken and his rudeness from entering in on them.

"Lord Sesshomaru said we are moving out first thing this morning." Jaken relayed the message on to the women.

"Get out you pervert!" Kirara shouted before grabbing something and throwing it directly at Jaken causing him to fall on his back.

"Are you alright Ms. Kirara?" Rin asked after seeing the peeved look on the older woman's face.

"Yeah, I am just _peachy_…" Kirara lied to the light skinned girl before rising to her feet.

Once they made sure that everything looked straightened up, the two left the room and locked the door behind them after Kirara kicked Jaken out of their walk way.

"Hey you, what was the idea of having Jaken waking us up so early?" Kirara asked once she saw the white haired male demon in her sights.

Sesshomaru did not seemed faze by Kirara's angry tirade and ignored her completely, "Is there something that you need to get done before you leave?"

His question caught her off guard when her hand unknowingly reached up to the collar that was still attached on her neck.

"Or did you think you were in some dream last night?" Sesshomaru's tone was calm when he asked her his question.

'_I wanted it to be a dream…I did not want the truth to sink in that you…you chose me as your mate. I just wanted to wake up and not feel this darn collar around my neck.' _ Kirara thought with her hands covering her eyes.

He heard Kirara exited out of the house after the door was slammed behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

Kirara had made her exit known throughout the house when she could feel the sun bathing her in its rays.

'_I don't want to be with that…' _She thought angrily when the sight before her eyes caused her to fall to her knees and covered her mouth with her hands.

"What is with that look?" "You really thought that you would leave without us?" "Come on now Lady Kirara."

She had to stop herself from allowing tears to fall down her face. She could smell Sesshomaru's scent right behind her as well as feel his presence behind her.

Kirara cover her eyes with her forearms with her hair, which blocked them from looking directly at her eyes.

"If you are grateful for what I did then you should not cry…it doesn't suit you." She heard him say before she looked up at him.

'_Did he just actually do something nice for me?' _she thought before her eyes fell back on to her men who awaited her.

"Ms. Kirara, are these your friends?" Rin asked once she made her way out on to the porch of the house.

Kirara rose to her feet before answering Rin's question, "Come on…I want you to meet them."

She had offered her hand for the brunette haired child to take when Kirara found Rin's hand grabbed on to hers.

Jaken, who had recovered from his injuries, walked out to see that they were a lot of humans in front of the house.

His eyes then fell on Kirara, who had Rin standing right by her with their hands within one another in the midst of the group of men.

'_No wonder she is a wild cat…' _Jaken thought after giving each of her traveling companions a once over and found them rough and rugged just like her.

"Everyone there is someone that I want you to meet. She was the little girl that took really good care of me." Kirara said loud enough so that her men could hear her while pointing at Rin.

"She looks just like you when you were younger." She heard Makoto tell her after looking at the girl to the left of Kirara.

Her men seemed to agree in unison when Kirara looked at Rin and sure enough there were some features that were similar to both her and Rin.

A young man with short choppy brown hair approached Rin with rimless glass on his nose. "My name is Kenichi. I hope our leader did not give you any trouble when you took care of her."

Rin shook her head in a no fashion, "Ms. Kirara saved my life twice so it was the least that I could do for her."

"Well such usage of words from a tiny warrior like yourself. My name is Makoto." A man with medium length silver hair introduced himself as Makoto.

"Ah…she could be your little baby sister…Lady Kirara. My name is Toshu." A man with orange hair that was in a low ponytail introduced himself.

"It was a pleasure to meet you all. I see that Ms. Kirara always have your safety first before anything else." Rin said with honesty in her tone.

Sesshomaru looked on to the buzzing crowd, as they all seemed to include Rin smoothly entering into their inner circle.

'_Children always have that effect on humans. Their ability to use innocence as a factor to ignore all the harms in the world.' _

"Kirara," he whispered when they all heard the sound of the bell from her neck ring once.

"Did that bell just move on its own?" Kirara heard Makoto asked her when she already knew why it rang.

"Come here to me." Sesshomaru gave the command when her men saw Kirara turn around back in the direction she just came from and saw her make her way over to Sesshomaru instead of answering Makoto's question.

"You really just enjoy that don't you?" Kirara asked with venom in her tone after approaching the white haired inu-youkai.

"Tell your men that we will be leaving shortly for the next town." Sesshomaru gave her another order.

"Listen up, we will be leaving in a couple of minutes for the next town." Kirara announced verbatim to her group of men who had their eyes on her.

"We are already ready to go, Lady Kirara." Makoto said after looking at the men before turning his attention back to Kirara.

'_As expected from my second in command.' _Kirara nodded her head to show that she understood that they were ready.

Sesshomaru walked pass Kirara when he saw that Jaken had retrieved Ah-Uh from behind the house and brought him around for Rin.

"Let's go men…" Kirara gave the order after retrieving a cloak from Kenichi's stash and put it on.

1111

"It seems as if we will no longer be having visitors' reside in the village along with us." Jakostu told Bankostu as they were all lined along the only entrance and exit for that particular village.

The sight of Sesshomaru and Kirara's traveling group intermixed with each other caught Bankostu and his brothers' attention.

"Just great not them again." Toshu complained in a joking manner when they all saw the Shichinintai blocking their path.

Kirara knew why they were blocking their path and had a feeling that Sesshomaru knew as well.

"I will handle this." Kirara stated while holding her right arm up to stop her men from advancing forward.

Sesshomaru did not show any signs of stopping her since he had a feeling that she was the only one who could get through them without any unnecessary fighting.

"Oh it seems as if they already knew what we wanted." Jakostu joked more towards Bankostu.

"Just give me the word and I will pound that woman's skull in and kill her subordinates." Kyoukostu stated while in a slumped position while standing up.

"No one move until I give the command to do so." Bankostu silenced his brothers' squabble before Kirara stood right in front of him.

'_I probably could burn half of them to death…' _Kirara thought to herself after she allowed her eyes to scan the infamous members of the Shichinintai.

Kirara reached for his left hand with his palm down while she extended one of her nails on her right hand and in the air drew two circles: one outer and inner before making a fire kanji in the middle.

She then swapped his hand to her right hand before holding her left hand over his and made a fist when Bankostu saw two drops of blood fall on his hand.

'_What in the world is she doing to our brother?' _Bankostu brothers thought after seeing the circle glowing on the back of his hand.

"This is a promise seal that will only come off when I fight you again in a real battle with no interruption so until then try not to die or get killed will you. The reason why it is burning is because I haven't finished the seal yet." Kirara informed him on what was happening to his hand.

She then placed a kiss on his lips when the glowing dimmed down and there was the image she had drawn on his palm etched into his skin.

"That was an interesting way for putting on a seal." Jakostu said to Bankostu after Kirara separated from him and walked away.

"Did Ms. Kirara just _kiss_ him?" Rin asked while gasping with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide.

Toshu could not help but laugh at Rin's innocence of the thing that just happened before her eyes.

"She created a promise seal on his hand, which means that she had a debt that was not fulfilled on her end so she makes those seals to show she will come back and repay the debt to them. The seal would have burned his hand off if Lady Kirara did not use her own power to extinguish it." Makoto explained.

"But did she really have to kiss him though?" Rin asked Makoto which caused Toshu to burst out laughing.

"Unless he would have rather wanted his arm burned off…" Makoto answered Rin's question in a nonchalant manner.

"She must really owe him a debt since she rarely uses that seal. He must have caught her interests as a worthy opponent in order for her to do that." Kenichi answered with some seriousness in his tone.

"It is not often that Lady Kirara finds someone of her caliber especially humans to be given that seal so he must be special to her." Toshu added in as they agreed with his statement.

"They will allow us to pass." Kirara announced to the group but more towards Sesshomaru since he was leading the group to the next town.

"Kirara, answer this question," Sesshomaru order when the sound of a bell ring caught everyone's attention.

"What is your take on Bankostu from the Shichinintai?" He asked her with a serious look in his face.

Kirara rolled her eyes since she did not really want to answer the question but could tell that Sesshomaru was a little worried about Bankostu.

"He is one of the strongest humans that I was able to spar with in my entire lifetime. He has excellent reflexes and knows his strengths and weakness when he fights. Does that answer your question?" Kirara answered with a serious look on her face.

"It seems as if those two just had an argument." Kenichi stated after witnessing the intense conversation between Lady Kirara and could have sworn he saw lighting from their eyes.

"I still do not see how or why he would want Lady Kirara as his mate? They are just incompatible with each other…" Toshu stated with his hands across his chest once they started to walk.

Kenichi flicked his traveling companion in the head with his index finger, "I am not surprised that you would say that after all you ware still a child."

"No fair Kenichi! What do you mean that I am still a child when I am older then you are?" Toshu asked with his hand cover his forehead.

"The saying that opposite attracts stands highly for them as a couple." Kenichi answered while wagging a finger at him.

"Lady Kirara is a little hothead but tend to go with the flow of things not allowing things to tie her down that way she has such a free spirit. She loves children and children loves her, case in point our newest member Rin, which is a plus since not every woman loves kids as our leader does. She is known throughout this land as the number one demon slayer even though she is a full fledged youkai she is incredibly strong." Kenichi broke it down for Toshu.

"Lord Sesshomaru is the calm before the storm. He does not always help people out even if they beg and plead with him. If he feels that they are unworthy then he will not help them. He is cold and indifferent towards the certain people he deems worthy even after that you will be treated the same. Of course his name is known all over this place because he is the demon lord of the West, Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken interjected his opinion in.

Makoto, Kenichi and Toshu looked towards the imp toad that spoke to them before flashing each other's look at why was the imp listening in on their conversation.

"They are cute together if you ask me." Rin's voice was heard as it brought the three men out of their thoughts.

"Ms. Rin does have a point whether we want it to happen or not they do look nice for one another." Toshu spoke.

"Hey what are you three back there whispering about?" Kirara asked over her shoulder when she saw those three huddled around each other and Rin.

"We were explaining to Rin what you did to the leader of Shichinintai." Makoto covered since it was the truth.

Kirara's eyes trailed over to Rin, "The promise seal, right?"

She gave her a wide smile as Rin just saved her men's lives with her answer, "Good for a moment there I thought you were talking about how Sesshomaru and I would look like a good couple."

Everyone except Rin continued to look at Kirara unnerved when Rin chose that moment to point out a cloud in the sky.

"I mean why would we even suggest that when we know you despise him." Kenichi chimed in signaling to Toshu not to say anything.

Kirara searched their faces once more before turning her attention back to the road ahead of them.

Toshu did a silent celebrating dance as they manage to get by on Kirara when he instantly stops before she looked over her shoulder at them again.

"Makoto," Kirara called for her second in command when he walked a little faster then the group to catch up to her.

"Did any of the men encounter any youkai on their way to or from their destination?" Kirara asked.

"Nothing major but minor ayakashi running about causing mayhem but other then that nope." Makoto verbally reported.

"Good, I was concerned when I turned into a demon. You know how ayakashi would flock to me so they can absorb my power so they can be complete." Kirara expressed concern about the worse possibility.

"Lady Kirara," "Yes, what is it Makoto?" "Why did that bell around your neck ring on its own?" Makoto asked.

For some reason Kirara looked up and narrowed her eyes towards the one who had put it on.


	13. Chapter 13

As the large traveling group comes to a halt when they notice that the sun was slowly making its way below the horizon

"So how far are we away from the next town?" Makoto ask Kirara after they decide to set up camp for the night.

"About fifteen miles off but we do need to rest though," Kirara answers while looking around at her men.

"That would be easy for us to finish within the end of the night." Toshu states while sitting Indian style on the forest ground.

Kirara could not help but to think that Toshu did make a valid point, "The thing is...we aren't traveling for ourselves anymore remember we have a young child along with us."

"That is right! How could we forget about Lady Rin so quickly." Toshu sounds displeased with himself.

Kirara looks over her shoulder to see Rin resting up against Ah-Uh's body with her eyes resting closed.

"Its alright. I think after some time we will become accustom to her traveling with us." Kirara reassures her group.

She glances around at the group one last time, "If there is no other problems then I think we should keep to our usual timetables on looking out duty."

"Yes ma'am." The group says with no hesitation or doubt in their tone when they answer.

'_Good…I am glad they are making this easier on me.' _She thought when she can feel a small breeze blow against her face when she could smell the scent of Sesshomaru.

Kirara looks up at the sky, _'Can I just every catch a break from him?' _

The bell rings around her neck, which causes her to roll her eyes, _'What do you want now?' _

1111

Kirara finds herself a good distance away from the campsite but with enough length for an easy run back in case something may arise.

She observes her surroundings and notices that they were in another clearing of the forest.

"You just will not give me a break will you?" Kirara questions in a sarcastic tone when she see Sesshomaru sitting on a tree stump.

He was in one of his meditation poses again as Kirara soon realizing that that was a pose he would take whenever he felt like keeping to himself.

Without failure, Kirara received no answer to her question that she asked from earlier.

"I want to discuss something with you about this mate matter." Sesshomaru says with an indifferent tone.

Kirara's heart nearly leapt as she hoped that he had suddenly had a change of heart and that the collar would be remove so she could be free again.

"I'm so glad you brought that up! I am so glad that you found another full fledge demon to be your mate…I mean they are pretty unlucky, if you ask me for my opinion. I am just so happy that it is no longer me so you can remove this collar!" Kirara rambles on earning a raised eyebrow from Sesshomaru.

'_Note to self: she is a little too happy when it comes down to hearing that she would get a replacement.' _Sesshomaru thought to himself.

"That is not what I wanted to talk to you about." Sesshomaru breaks her happy moment, which earns a small smile from him after seeing her disappointed look on her face.

'_Just when I thought I was off the hook.' _Kirara disappointedly thought to herself.

She decides to take a seat on a fallen trunk of wood while placing her right leg over her left with her elbow prop on her leg with her chin in her hand.

"I am listening. What is it that you want to talk to me about?" Kirara inquires with disappointment in her tone.

Sesshomaru observes her in her new pose when he notes that her hair had reverted to its night form, which consisted of her blonde hair now raven black and her obsidian eyes were now red.

'_The colors from her demon form…' _he thought as the color choice was now making sense to him.

Kirara did not like the look that she was receiving from Sesshomaru. It was as if he was looking and observing every one of her movements watching her when she blink or when she would need to breathe in air.

She rolls her eyes seeing as this conversation was now pointless since they were getting nowhere.

After staring at her for a while, he decide that he should get to what he had called her for, "Our destination that we are going to is the territory that is under my control. I'm sure you are aware of what I am talking about."

'_The land where they allowed you to rule them…I would have not allow it.' _Kirara thought to herself.

"One question," Kirara asked him, "Why are we going there?"

"With the mating process there is a informal and formal part of the deal. What I did was the informal part and so that only leaves the formal part."

Kirara did not like the sound of where their conversation was going, "So are you telling me that you are basically asking me to _marry_ you?"

He notes that she put a lot of emphasis on the word marry, he merely nods his head and wait for the news to sink in.

'_5…4…3…2...1…' _ "You can't be serious!" "I didn't confirm that I wanted to _marry _you?" "Why me!" "Why me!"

He identifies that that soon became her personal mantra for moments like these, "You are lucky that I decided to tell you about this when I had the chance."

Kirara was so angry that she did not hear anything that Sesshomaru told her as if it would even help.

She had leapt from her wooden seat and kicked a hole in the trunk by accident. When she tries to remove her foot from the trunk it was stuck to her foot.

Kirara let out a cry of frustration when she can feel her anger draining her energy so she takes a couple of deep breaths to herself so she could calm herself down.

'_He is not worth it Kirara…he enjoys seeing you lose your temper over this subject matter. That is why he continues to bring this up for his amusement purposes.'_

Once she frees her foot from the trunk she left the scene seeing as she could have possibly burn down the entire forest with her anger.

'_Remember…Rin is sleeping peacefully and quietly along with your men. Don't burn this forest to the ground.' _

That was the only thought that was going to her head when she nears the campsite where her men and Rin were resting.

'_The best thing for me to do is get some sleep…maybe that would clear my mind.' _Kirara silently hope as she takes a spot close to Rin but not too close since Ah-Uh did not know her as well as he did with Rin.

'_Sleep…' _he eyes droops until she could no longer see the campsite before even out her breathing.

Kirara can hear the sound of church bells, which causes her eyes to shoot open, and her hands to cover her ears due to her sensitive hearing.

She felt something on her hands when she brings them forward to see that white gloves covered them. _'Something is so not right…'_

Kirara looks up to see that she was standing in front of a large vertical mirror in an elaborate wedding dress that reminded her of something that a princess would wear. Her blonde hair was pulled into a side bun with a veil sitting alongside her head. Then there was that wretched red collar with the golden bell attached to it around her neck.

'_This better not be what I think it is?' _She thought to herself when she turns to see that she was now facing someone in a traditional black and white suit but she could not see their face.

The priest asked her do she do, "Whom am I marrying?"

She glances up and saw the face of Bankostu when a sigh of relief escape her mouth after holding her chest wit her hands.

"For a minute there I thought I was marrying Sesshomaru."

Then she sort of squeal in excitement from not seeing Sesshomaru's face before saying "I do" but then the sight of white locks catches her attention.

'_Wait a freaking minute…' _she thought before looking up again to see Sesshomaru was looking at her.

Kirara tries to yank her hands away from his but he had a grip on her, "Let me go, Sesshomaru!"

She looks towards the priest with protests and a disdain look on her face at the realization that she was now going to have to spend the rest of her life with Sesshomaru.

'_Get me out of here!' _she screams after seeing the whole place around her disappear as well as the wedding dress she was wearing.

'_Whew I thought I almost lost it there…' _she thought while checking to see if the wedding dress was really gone.

Kirara felt an excoriating pain all of a sudden in her abdominal region when she looks down to see she no longer had a flat stomach but a rather large round stomach.

'_This better not be what I think it is...' _she thought before she can feel pain coming in waves now.

"Breath," she hears midwives tell her as her breathing starts to quicken.

She let out a painful scream when she can hears the midwife tell her, "It's crowning."

"You are almost there…" she heard and smelled Sesshomaru when she turned to see he was right there with her.

Kirara felt some more pain before feeling relief when she saw the midwife wrap something up in her arm before she felt the same pain again.

'_Are you serious I can't be having twins…' _she thought but it was the same pain she felt god knows how long ago.

It almost seem as if the midwives were giving her the same mantra "Breathe…Breathe…Breathe…"

She let another scream before she felt some relief on her lower region when the sounds of something crying catches her attention.

"Congratulations it is two girls…" the midwife who handles the deliver makes the announcement while the other midwives tended to the newborns.

Kirara breathing was ragged, as she could not believe that she had just given birth to a set of twins that belonged to her and _Sesshomaru._

'_This is not a nightmare. This is hell itself…' _she thought before her surroundings blacked out again as it did when she got married.

'_No more…I am damn begging this time. Wake myself up from the hell.' _

"Lady Kirara." She feels someone shaking her before she shoots up to see that it was Makoto who had woke her up.

"You look like you had a rough time getting some sleep." he jokes with her before rising to his feet.

"What time is it?" she ask when she look around to see everyone was still asleep and that it was no longer dark.

"It is almost twilight. Remember you told me to wake you so you can complete your guard duty." Makoto reminds her of what she told him earlier.

Kirara brings her hand up to her eye before shaking her head so she could get rid of those thoughts that had haunted her in her sleep.

"Are you sure you are up for it? If not I can take your post since I don't feel sleepy at all." Makoto suggests to her.

"No…it would not be fair to the group especially you. I will take my post so you can get some rest. We have quite a ways to travel on the speed that we are going at." Kirara responds before rising to her feet.

Makoto at first was unwilling to leave since he saw that look in her face.

"If the lady say so then I will acquire as much sleep as I possibly can." He assures her before she nods at his statement.

"That would be much appreciated…now off you go." Kirara says as she sends him to his temporary bed.

She let out a sigh of relief that her true feelings were not so easy to find, _'I am just glad I awoke from that horrible dream…' _

Kirara found a nice spot in the trees where she could get a good view of their campsite as well as the surroundings.

'_I am glad that I volunteered for the twilight position…or I would have to relive that over again.' _ She thought to herself before she gave another scan of their area.

'_All clear from my end…at least for now that is.' _She thought to herself before giving the air a sniff.

'_Just great…now I have to smell him too…I hate this ability to smell any scent.' _She thought before the smell of ivory springs caught her attention.

'_Oh my god…' _she thought to herself when she had looked over in that direction.

What she saw almost caused her to fall out of her high position on the tree and back on to the forest floor.


	14. Chapter 14

'_Turn your head away…unless you like what you are looking at.' _Kirara thought to herself but for some reason she could not comply with her thoughts at the moment.

She knew the smell of ivory springs meant that there was a spring or a lake somewhere in the vicinity but what she did not know was of the excellent view she had of it.

'_So you are going to beat yourself up after you just had a nightmare about that…' _she heard her conscious talking to her now.

'_Whatever it is, it is not like I am causing him harm right?' _she told her conscious before it agreed with her.

'_Ah it is no point in denying it now…' _her conscious told her before retreating back to its own thoughts.

She felt some wet liquid running down her face when she reached up and touch it before bringing it to her face.

'_Is that blood?' _she thought to herself as she wondered how it got there.

'It is called a nosebleed sweetheart. It is typical among fan girls who see an extremely hot guy and their nose start to bleed. So you obviously like what you see,'

'_No I do not…' 'So why are you still looking? You should be focus on the welfare of your men and Rin.'_

Kirara could not believe she was having this war with her conscious all due to what she was seeing happen before her eyes.

'_Oh it also happens with perverts…such as yourself…'_

She decided to put her conscious on hold at the moment when she refocused on to Sesshomaru who was currently taking a bath in the lake.

Kirara noticed that he did not tie his hair back but instead allowed it to float on top of the surface while he enjoyed the refreshing water and all that it offered.

'_He must be finishing up…' _she thought to herself when she saw him make his way towards his clothes.

She squealed and covered her eyes as blood shoot forward at an incredible fast speed that she had to cover it with both of her hands. With that sudden action was when her weight shifted a little to far back causing her to fall out of the branch of the tree.

Sesshomaru looked up to see a bird where Kirara once sat at, _'I thought I smelled something funny.' _

One thing she appreciated most about being a neko youkai was that they always landed on their feet.

'I told you that you should have been focused on your job. Look at you…almost fell to your death'

'Shut up and go to sleep…' she thought while she cleaned the blood away from her face.

Lucky for her the sun was starting to peek over the horizon when the first rays of light hit her body causing her hair and eye color to change once again.

She allowed herself to sharpen her sense of hearing as she could hear the nocturnal animals returning to their homes before the sun fully made its way up.

The sound of people inhaling and exhaling signaled to her that everyone was still enjoying their sleep.

Her sense of smell heightened as well as she could smell the fresh smell of pine, a rich earthy smell and the stench of that white haired inu-youkai named Sesshomaru.

'So now you can not stand the smell but yet you like the sight of him.' Her conscious brought back up before she shook her thoughts out of her mind.

While Kirara was silently having war within her mind she did not hear or smell Sesshomaru coming up behind her.

'She still haven't sensed me yet?' he thought to himself when he saw that she was pacing around with her eyes directed at the forest ground.

He noticed that her face had scrunched up which meant that she was thinking about something hard.

After seeing her walk around in circles he reached out and touched her shoulders 'Times up…'

Kirara felt something or someone touch her shoulders when her reaction was to flip whoever had approached her over her shoulder.

Sesshomaru felt her hand over his wrist and noticed she had shifted her left foot back as if she was preparing to throw him over her shoulder.

When he felt her used her strength to try and flip him but since he was stronger then she was the attempt ended in failure.

She did not remove her hand from his instead she turned around and could tell that some shock was apparent on her face.

"What do you want?" she asked him with venom and irritation evident in her tone after seeing whom the hand belongs to.

"My hand." He answered her question when she had looked down to see that she still had both of her hands on his one hand.

In the moment, he saw that she quickly removed her hand from his as if she had touched something disgusting.

"Humph" she said when she folded her arms across her chest deciding to change her attention to something more conventional.

When he did not say why he was there Kirara wanted to leave but she knew it would have been pointless since he would have just called her back.

'I hate not having options…' she thought to herself.

"You still haven't answer my question yet, what do you want?" Kirara inquired in an irritated voice still not looking him in the face when she asked.

"I don't have to answer to you." He simply told her before turning off from where he original walked from.

'He wants to start with me early in the morning…' she complained at his nonchalant behavior towards her.

She glanced over to see that Rin was currently rubbing her eyes, signaling to Kirara that she was awaking from her slumber.

'I wonder how she was able to sleep on that dragon horse the entire night.' She thought to herself when she could hear her own men waking up.

She made her way over to where Makoto was resting and placed her foot on his side and shook him while saying, "Hey, you hurry up and wake up."

The silver haired man responded to the movement by sitting up with his back towards her. "It seems as if you woke up in a foul mood."

Kirara rolled her eyes before turning to face Rin again. "Make sure everyone is up and ready to leave in five minutes. Who knows when that white haired idiot will tell us what time when we will be leaving."

Makoto glanced over his shoulder to see that his leader had her back faced the other way. 'She really is in a foul mood.'

He thought before following his leader decision so he would not invoke the wraith of her and begin to wake up his comrades.

'I should at least say good morning to Rin.' She thought to herself when she made a move towards Rin.

The sound of the bell around her neck caught her attention. 'Ugh,' she thought when she saw that her walking direction changed to the one where Sesshomaru had just come from.

'I wonder where Ms. Kirara is going?' Rin asked herself when she saw Kirara heading away from the campsite.

1111

Kirara noticed that she had walked a little ways until she reached the clearing where she saw the lake, where Sesshomaru bathe in last night.

'Don't think about it…' she repeated to herself hoping that her nose would not bleed in front of him.

She noticed that he was standing close to the lake when she made her way over to where he was but maintained some distance between them.

"Our destination is the West Kingdom, the land in which I rule over," he told her which caught her attention.

"So riddle me this…why are we heading to your land?" Kirara inquired about that particular choose of their destination.

"Obviously I did not place that collar on your neck for nothing, do you want to know about the collar?" He answered her question with another question.

She reached for the collar that was around her neck, "Apparently it's a magical collar since you are the only one that can take it off and it seems to ring every time you call my name and I have to follow the order that is given. It's pretty simple to me."

"You only have the way it works but my question was do you know the significance of that collar?" he asked her causing her face to turn red in the process.

"No," she answered in a rush tone while lying in the process, "You never told me."

She noticed that he shifted his weight to his other foot before speaking, "I clearly remember the night that I told you because you gave it a test run by running as far as you could from me only to have to come running back."

Kirara was caught off guard, as she had to remind herself that she was up against the white haired inu-youkai named Sesshomaru.

He cracked a small smile at how she tried desperately to blank that night out of her memories. "Then I will explain it to you again, that collar is passed down through generations of my family whenever we find a mate."

She unknowingly cringed when he spoke to her before thinking to herself 'That word again.'

"The reason why we are heading to the West Kingdom is so I can present you as the future Lady of the area. I am sure you have no disagreements to that…now do you?" he asked before looking over his shoulder to see her reaction.

At first it did not sink in until he saw her face scrunch up when she took a step forward before leaping and took off in a sprint away from him.

He shook his head in disbelief at how this was feeling like déjà vu to him. 'She does have a interesting way of showing her emotions.'

Although Kirara knew it was pointless to run since he would just call her back due to the collar that she had around her neck.

'I just need to run for a minute.' She thought before deciding to run in a loop fashion so she would end up back at the campsite instead of near Sesshomaru.

"You know running away from your problems won't help you since I was not able to tell you the reason why I called you out there." She heard his voice when she looked to her right to see that instead of running he was floating alongside her.

"I don't care what you have to say! You took me as your prisoner without even consulting whether or not I want to be with you. I am use to solving my problems by running so leave me alone or I will roast you like a marshmallow." She said before increasing her speed.

It really did not matter since the small gap she created was soon eliminated when he once again appeared next to her.

"When we are there we will have a wedding and you will attend whether or not you want to. After that you don't have to do or worry about anything else." He continued on with his announcement anyway.

She ran when she noticed some fallen tree trunks and focused on something else.

'3…2…1…' she mentally counted to herself as she skid to a halt while Sesshomaru continued to fly forward.

When she did not hear a crashing noise she saw that he had stopped before crashing into the logs, 'Why can't I have at least one?'

He noticed the defeated look on her face as she turned away from him and decided to walk back to their campsite with no other statements of disbelief and hate.

'So it seems as if she is finally breaking.' He thought to himself before he also made his way back to the campsite.

1111

"Is everyone ready to move out?" Kirara asked in a dejected manner, which was recognized by her travel mates.

Makoto, Kenichi, and Toshu exchanged looks with another as well as their other traveling companions.

"Yes, my lady, we are ready to move on your count." Makoto answered, as he did not want to see Kirara's temper if her question was not answered.

They noticed that Rin and the frog imp demon Jaken was waiting alongside the white haired inu-youkai Sesshomaru, who had his back turned to them.

"Are you ready to go too, Ms. Kirara?" Rin asked while turning to face Kirara when she appeared next to her.

'More or less.' Was what she wanted to say instead she returned the same smile and "Yes" for an answer.


	15. Chapter 15

'_I can't believe that I'm really traveling to the West Kingdom.' _Kirara thought in somewhat of an anxious daze and a hidden discomfort seeing as it would be the end of her being a free spirit.

The reason for why bounty hunters did not particularly travel through the West kingdom was simply because their were no jobs available there.

Since the demon in front of her made sure that it was guarded by nothing but the best of the best, his elitist like attitude literally pisses her off so much that she wanted to punch him directly in the middle of his face.

So why with every one of her steps that she takes towards the end of her independence she felt as if her life was coming to an end as well.

'_I won't be a bounty hunter anymore…' _she thought dejectedly when she heard Makoto's voice breaking her out of her dreaded state.

"My lady, pardon me for my interruption," he chimes in as he pauses before being signaled the go ahead, "do you know our destination?"

Makoto notices a dark fog emit over his leader's head as her eyes were no longer visible and her shoulders were slump forward.

"I don't think you should ask that question again Makoto." Toshu chimes in after seeing how Kirara reacted to hearing that question.

Makoto looks at their leader again before agreeing with Toshu's statement when they came upon a wooden planked bridge.

Kenichi notices that the bridge was connected to a mountainside that was oddly familiar to him as if he had seen it somewhere before, _'It's probably just a regular bridge…what was I thinking?'_

They manage to cross in a straight-line fashion, when they noticed that Kirara was still in a funk as she seem to sway left and right with ever step she takes forwards.

"We have to do something to cheer Lady Kirara up! I wonder why she grows visibly upset when I asked where we were going." Makoto mentions to Toshu and Kenichi who were walking on his left and right.

"Maybe it is somewhere she doesn't really want to go." Kenichi claims seeing, as that was the only reason why she was upset.

"For her, she loves to travel so new places excite her except she is the opposite with this place and what has had her down recently?" Toshu poses while deducing a possible answer by monitoring her reactions.

It took a couple of minutes for them to figure out the answer, "Every since that collar appeared around her neck and she was told that she was Sesshomaru's mate."

That statement seem to catches Kirara's sensitive hearing as the black fog disappears and instead was covered in flames with her eyes, "What _exactly_ are you three talking about?"

"Uh," "We were just wondering why you were down in the dumps." "Forgive us, if we have upset you so greatly my lady."

Kirara's flames ceases after hearing their reason why they were talking about her and why the "m-" word was muttered among them.

"Oh…" she says after shrinking back away from her loyal comrades when it hit her that she did not catch them up on the latest news of her situation.

"That's right I didn't tell you three about that…" she trails off in her statement along with her attention.

The trio once again exchanged looks with one another before turning their attention to their leader.

"Remind me to tell you when we make our next stop." Kirara claims while turning her back to them and continues to stroll onward to their unknown destination.

"If she had that kind of reaction…"Kenichi says with his finger to his chin after observing their leader's reaction.

"It must be something…" Toshu adds "…serious." Makoto finishes the sentence.

1111

After hours of walking and mental wars, nighttime was approaching the large traveling group before Sesshomaru deemed that the top of the mountain would be a suitable campsite for the night.

'_From our current position...we are only a day or so away from the end.' _Kirara thought before crashing onto the surface of a level boulder that was in their vicinity.

She rubs her temples as she could feel a headache coming on after unleashing her powers when she heard the "m-" word emerge from Makoto's mouth.

'_I didn't mean to snap like that…it just that word irks my nerves.' _Kirara knew she had to tell her men the real reason why she snapped at them when they were at the bottom of the mountain.

"Ms. Kirara." She hears Rin's soft voice call her name.

She looks up to see that she was face to face with the brunette haired girl that she came to adore and treat like a younger sister.

"Yes, what is it Rin?" she inquires politely towards the little girl, who was currently standing in front of her.

"You didn't look happy on the trip up here, are you alright?" she poses with a small smile on her face at the same time.

Her mind reeled back to the argument between her, Makoto, Toshu and Kenichi before thinking to herself. _'So it really was visible huh?' _

She wears a small on her face with her eyes closed before answering the question, "I just have had a lot on my mind recently. Thanks for worrying about me."

The little girl nodded her head up and down with a smile still on her face, "Oh and Ms. Kirara,"

Kirara glances in Rin's direction, "I don't know if Lord Sesshomaru told you this but he is taking us to the West Kingdom. I'm sure you will like it there."

'_So Rin knew this whole time on where we were going?' _she thought as it causes her face to grow red again.

"Thanks for the warning. I appreciate it." She answers the girl back in a tone whisper that Rin uses for her before watching her run over to where Ah-Uh was lying.

'_Well it's about time that I tell them what is going on.' _She thought to herself as that conversation with Rin strengthen her resolve on telling her crew what was going to happen.

"Lady Kirara," she was greeted by Makoto, who along with the others kneeled to show their respect for their leader.

She merely raised her hand right hand baring her palm, "Everyone please take a seat…it is about time that I tell you why I was in a funk earlier."

They grew awfully quiet after hearing her announcement, which signals to her that she could proceed with what she wanted to tell them.

"Makoto," she calls out which causes the silver haired man to look in her direction, "To answer your question from earlier, where are we heading?"

Their eyes displays their eagerness and anxiousness to find out where they were currently traveling to. "We are heading to the…West Kingdom."

"Isn't that territory Lord Sesshomaru has under his control?" Toshu asks Kirara, as he was curious as to why they were traveling there all of a sudden.

Kirara nods her head up and down before answering Toshu's question. "Yes, that is the place."

"So why are we, _bounty hunters_, traveling to a place that has a high execution rate of rouge demons and other beings?" Kenichi inquires, as it was not adding up in his books.

"My lady, Kenichi is right, there is no purpose for us to be traveling there." Makoto speaks up again causing Kirara to change her attention back to him. "There has never been an ad or poster up dealing with demons in the West Kingdom area."

Kirara clears her throat so the attention was back on to her, "The reason why we are heading to the West Kingdom is to…" she takes a deep gulp before answering the question, "attend a wedding."

"A _wedding_?" her men asks in unison, as they were even more confuse than before.

She closes her eyes, as she did not want to see their reactions when she tells them the rest of her announcement.

"Do any of you all have family there?" Toshu poses towards the group, as they all seem to answer the question with no's.

Kirara frustrated with all the questions decided to end it. "The wedding that we will be attending will be…_my_ wedding."

That seemed to catch everyone off guard as some off them passed out from shock, some questioned over and over inwardly, while the main three just could not process anything else afterwards.

'_No wonder she blew a gasket when Makoto/I said the word mate.' _They thought to themselves when they remembered how Kirara lost her temper.

'_That is why that bridge looked familiar to me.' _Toshu thought afterwards as he recalls hearing one of the bounty hunters, who frequented the West Kingdom describe his trip to the amateurs.

"My lady, are you going to go through with this? We all know how you love your freedom to move around with no ties to the land." Makoto inquires about her feelings about her current situation

"It seems as if I have been holding up nicely for now...besides I will be attending whether or not I want to." She states while pointing to her neck directing their attention to the collar Sesshomaru placed around her neck.

"You guys will help me through it? After all, I cannot abandon those who were willing to risk their lives on a constant basis for me. Besides you're all I got left of my freedom." Kirara states pulling at some of their heartstrings with her answer.

They all nods their head in unison after hearing their leader's disposition, "Well then...we will do our best to keep you busy and away from your future husband."

It brings a smile on to her face after hearing what her family response to her announcement. "I would greatly appreciate that."

"My lord, are you sure you want to marry something like that? I mean would it not tarnish your reputation rather then elevate it?" Jaken questions his lord, who merely ignored his question.

"Jaken, " he says his name. "Yes, what is it my Lord?" Jaken quickly answers to his name.

"Since when were you concerned with the decisions that I make? Besides it does not really affect you in any other way except you will have to answer to her. If there are no further objections then you should continue to do as you normally do."

Jaken could not believe that he was being reprimanded from Lord Sesshomaru after talking about Kirara in his presence.

'_I will not answer to her even if she is married to Lord Sesshomaru.' _He thought in disdained for the woman that was within his sights.

1111

Kirara felt a burden lift off of her chest when she confessed to her crew and family, _'I don't have to avoid the questions anymore.' _

She waited till her team was fast asleep before taking a seat at the edge of the cliff when she could feel the upward draft blowing her now black hair upwards.

'_The breeze feels good.' _She thought to herself as she looks out at the scenery that the mountains provided for her.

'_I can't believe that I will be missing this in a couple of days.' _She thought inwardly before placing her hand by her ears preventing some of her hair from blocking her view.

The once sky blue sky was now the color of darkness with the glowing stars resembling little white polka dots.

That god-awful scent she came to hate was strong when she glances over to her right to see that the manifestation of her hate was currently sitting right next to her.

"So you plan to torture me with your presence for a second night in a row?" she poses but received no answer.

"You at least owe me an answer to one of my questions that I asked you." Kirara proposes, as this silence was not sitting right with her.

"Why do you think I owe you a answer? I'm not even in debt to you." Sesshomaru speaks as he sparked the flame of hate within her.

"Your elitist attitude makes me want to punch you in the face for someone who is a full demon, you act as if you are a noble." Kirara injects venom in her statement towards him.

She let out a "huff" in frustration before glancing up at the sky, "I don't see why I even try to have a polite conversation with you since you act like a freaking brick wall."

"So would you really care if I stayed quiet while you continued to ask questions that I won't answer." Sesshomaru rebuffs her statement with another question.

Kirara raise to her feet as the conversation she was having with him was going nowhere, "Then I really don't see a point as to why we are even having this conversation in the first place."

'_Did she just really walk away from in the middle of the conversation?' _he asked himself as he watched Kirara's retreating back.

He observes her as she finds a comfortable place to lay her head down for the night before drifting off to sleep.

Sesshomaru was in momentary shock seeing, as she was the first person to ever walked out in the middle of the conversation without asking him to leave or leaving himself.

'_Ha, serves you right.' _Kirara thought as she remembered the look Sesshomaru had on his face when she left in the middle of their conversation.

With a silent cheer and a hooray that soon lulled her off to sleep not caring about the following days.


	16. Chapter 16

Kirara dreaded the next morning and wanted to prevent the sun from rising. However, she could not control time itself and so just like every other morning the sun took its place in the sky.

It was then that she had decided to face whatever was to happen to her today head on. Since she was not use to running away from a challenge and definitely was not about to start today.

However that sudden resolve dissipated as soon as it came when she felt the bell around her neck ring once.

She notice that she was walking pass a sleeping Rin and the toad imp who was propped up against a boulder when she saw nothing but white.

"We should arrive at the kingdom midday if we travel within the means. Go and wake your companions up." He tell her as she wears a look of disbelief on her face.

'_Is that all what he wanted to tell me?' _she ask herself before turning on the back of her heels and making her way back to where her men were sleeping for the night.

'_I feel more like a pet running errands for him.' _She thought in anger as she wake her crew up with a simple shout of "Fire!"

They instantly hop to their feet impressing Kirara with their quick reaction time. "Well it seems as if everyone is in an eager mood this morning. We are moving out in five so hurry up!"

Her group frowns at how she tricks them into waking up but allow it to pass when they notice a smile appear on her face.

'_At least she is smiling around us now.' _They all thought before gathering their items together for the next day travel.

'_I think I did a rather nice job.' _She marvel at her brilliance before she making her way over to where Rin was once again sleeping on Ah-Uh's body. Kirara gently shakes her arm to wake her from her slumber.

"Ms. Kirara?" the little girl ask once she notice that the blonde haired neko-youkai in front of her.

"It's time to rise and shine! We are leaving in a couple of minutes." Kirara answer her question in a gentle tone before she help Rin to her feet.

Kirara observe as Rin tap Ah-Uh's body three times as the dragon horse respond with a lift of its head showing that it was now awake.

"Up and at 'em." She tell the dragon as it seem to be the words of encouragement the dragon need to hear to get on its feet.

'_It must trust her very well if it follows her orders with no questions.' _Kirara thought after watching the relationship Rin displays with Ah-Uh.

The dragon horse turn its head toward Rin, give her a lick on the cheek, and nudge its head against her cheek causing her to laugh. She pets its two heads to return her own type of affection to the dragon-horse.

"Make sure you cherish that bond." Kirara declares to the little girl before she takes leave of Rin with Ah-Uh.

"Ma'am. We are already to go." Kenichi announce once Kirara approach them.

"Good then. Let's make headway." Kirara state before seeing Makoto kneel in front of her with her beige cloak folded in his hands.

"We thought that you might want to use this today." He explains the reason as to why he had the item currently in the palm of his hands.

Kirara reach out for the cloth, "I swear you guys can read me like an open book." _'I'm glad that I have you all are here by my side or there would have been no forest to look at.'_

"Ah-Uh and I are ready too, Ms. Kirara." Rin proclaims when she sees Kirara tie the string tightly around her neck so the cloak would not fall off.

"Hey you mutt! We are ready to leave!" Kirara shouts once everyone had gathered in one central area.

A gentle breeze was felt before seeing Sesshomaru land in between Rin and Kirara causing the cloak to fly directly upwards.

"Was that really necessary?" Kirara poses when she fold her arms across her chest with a dull expression on her face.

"How dare you question Lord Sesshomaru? Remain in your place woman!" Jaken's voice was heard. This cause her to glance down to see the toad imp standing in front of her.

"Whatever." She answers his question while rolling her eyes in the process. She saw Sesshomaru move in the direction that was toward his homeland.

'_Finally, we are able to move now.' _Kirara thought after she place the hood of the cloak over her head hiding her face from anyone else.

"Um, Ms. Kirara," Rin's voice catches her attention after covering a good amount of distance from the campsite to the West Kingdom.

"Yes, what is it Rin?" she asks while looking at the little girl, who was sitting atop of the dragon horse's back.

"Why do you have that cloak on?" Rin initiated her own little interrogation on her traveling companion.

Kirara release a sigh while thinking of a way to explain the real reason as to why she had on the cloak. "It's a complicated story that I'm not in the mood of explaining."

Rin nod her head to show she understand Ms. Kirara's answer to her question. She turn her attention back to what was in front of her.

"Are you that upset that you are marrying Lord Sesshomaru that you are hiding your face now?" she pose out of the blue which cause Kirara to look up at the girl in shock.

'_Does Sesshomaru have to tell her every thing about us! Wait did I just say…us? What is wrong with me?' _Kirara thought as she wage war within herself.

"Ms. Kirara," Rin's voice brings her out of her thoughts, "I think you and Lord Sesshomaru will make a wonderful couple."

The females' current conversation catch the ears of Kirara's men and even…Sesshomaru were listening in on the pair.

'_So young and naive.' _She thought after hearing what Rin said about her situation.

"His attention is hardly held for anyone or anything. So for you to be able to do that you two will make a wonderful couple." Rin exclaims when she bring the palms of her hands together.

That statement cause her to glance over to where Sesshomaru was leading the pack to their destination.

"I didn't ask for any of this, Rin. I'm what you call a free-spirited person. I move around a lot with no physical ties to this earth. So being forced into something that I don't want to do is like trying to stop the sun from rising in the morning, you just can't do it." Kirara explains it in a simple manner toward Rin.

Rin bring her right index finger on to her chin, "Oh that's why. I think I understand now."

Kirara could not help but to smile at the little girl's inquisitive manner when it came down to her and Sesshomaru's relationship.

"Still Ms. Kirara, why do you have that cloak on?" she repeat her question once again causing Kirara to mentally fall over face forward.

"I don't feel like being seen today." Kirara answer her question with honesty evident in her tone.

'_More like she is embarrassed to be announced as his mate.' _Makoto thought to himself about Lady Kirara's feeling.

'_Poor Lady Kirara, she is really going through with this.' _Kenichi thought inwardly while shaking his head.

'_It should go smoothly if it works in our favor.' _Toshu thought of a strategic plan incase someone in West Kingdom try something to Lady Kirara.

'_I really just want to get this whole thing over with.' _Kirara thought with swirls for eyes at how everyone was so interested in her situation.

Sesshomaru continue to head toward his destination with plans formulating in his head the entire time.

1111

"We're here!" Rin declaration bring Kirara out of her self-meditating thoughts so she could control her raging ire toward a certain white haired inu-youkai by the name of Sesshomaru.

"This place is huge!" Kenichi expresses his amazement at the sheer size of the West Kingdom.

Kirara had to admit that for the kingdom to have such an indifferent leader the place lived up to all of the rumors.

'_I would have never took him for some one who lived around mountains.' _Kirara thought as the landscape revealed lush green grass and vibrant colors along with being nestled into a valley of mountains.

She notices that everyone was walking in front of her with Makoto having to snap her out of her daze.

'_I can't believe I froze up there.' _Kirara thought before catching up back to her original position when her hands hold on tighter to the hood so it would not fall off in the process.

When they were approaching the gate, two guards pushes open the gate door while greeting, specifically Sesshomaru with a "My lord...welcome back."

The two guards who guard the gate looked as if they could single handed combat a small militia that would attempt to penetrate their walls forcefully.

'_Wait…I'm picking up a familiar scent from those two.' _Kirara thought to herself when she notice they there were a familiar smell to them.

'_Their scent…but from where?' _she asks herself while her hands remind glue to holding on tightly to the hood of her cloak.

The two guards close the gate door back once the entire party manage to pass through safely.

"That was close." "He knew it was us." _'So why did he not say anything?' _

It was not long that the inhabitants of the West Kingdom did not notice their presence; after all it was not an everyday occurrence that you would see your ruler walking in the streets.

At first it was a small crowd, _'Good, I can deal with something like that…' _she thought.

'_Eh…what the?' _she quickly thought afterwards when she notice that they were stuck in a growing crowd of people.

"My lady," she heard Makoto's voice call out to her when their traveling group was being separated from their leader.

"Ms. Kirara!" Kirara hears Rin's voice before she was being suffocated and squeezed away from the group.

Rin manage to catch her hand with Ah-Uh's reins before she was swallowed up entirely in the crowd's bombardment of Sesshomaru.

"Thanks there Rin, I owe you one." She thank the brown haired girl as she hold onto the reins of Ah-Uh before helping herself up onto its saddle.

"Are your men going to be okay?" Rin inquires about the status of Kirara's traveling group.

"Oh them," Kirara say while pointing to various rooftops with her men occupying the top of them, "They should be used to this by now."

"Makoto, is everyone accounted for?" Kirara ask her second-in-charge when Rin flown Ah-Uh until they were in front of him.

He did a quick scan of the rooftops that were occupied. "Yeah, everyone's here."

"Ms. Kirara, there is something I want to show you. Do you mind if we go there now?" Rin's question catches her attention.

Kirara and Rin exchange looks with one another before deciding to trust Rin and her intentions.

"I want you to take over the group for now, Makoto. Stay close to Lord Sesshomaru or you won't be allowed access. Try to keep a good distance from him until I am back." Kirara issues out her orders to Makoto.

"You can count on me, my lady." He reassures her while giving a bow at the torso.

Kirara then turned her attention back to Rin and with a smile on her face states, "I'm all yours."

"Let's go Ah-Uh!" Rin shouts so the dragon horse could hear her when she gently whip the reins up and down.

Sesshomaru glance upwards to see Ah-Uh flying straight ahead with Rin and Kirara riding on its back.

He quickly turn his lower half into a cloud form before he take off toward his castle along with Kirara's men scaling the rooftops so they could avoid the crowd.

'_She has them well trained.' _He thought to himself, as he was silently glad that the situation was already handle efficiently.

'_I wonder why those two were here.' _He thought when his attention turn to the front gate that he just pass through.

'_As long as they don't try anything funny then I will leave them be.' _

1111

"So where are we going Rin?" Kirara inquire about their destination, as the people below them seem like ants.

"I figured that since you were not happy I wanted to cheer you up." She answer when she discovered a marker signaling to her that they arrived.

"I want it to be a surprise. Close your eyes." Rin comments as Kirara's interest was rising.

'_Its Rin…' _"I don't see why not?" she answer while covering her eyes and feel them descending toward the surface of the earth.

"Ta da!" Rin exclaim causing Kirara to remove her hands from her eyes.

"No way…"


	17. Chapter 17

"No way! You got to be kidding me?" Kirara says to herself not realizing that Rin was still standing in front of her.

"Is there something wrong, Ms. Kirara?" Rin inquires after she glance over her shoulder to see the look of annoyance on Kirara's face.

Kirara glance down when she remember that Rin did not know the reason as to why she had the current look on her face.

She scratch the back of her head while laughing hard with her eyes closed "Let's just say that the last time I went to a bathhouse, a demon was in the hot springs and claimed that I was his songbird. After having a little help, I managed to handle the demon."

'_Now that I think about it…his scent was similar to the guards at the gate.' _Kirara thought when she recalled who aided her in obliterating the demon.

'_Why would he be here though? It doesn't make any sense?' _she ask herself inwardly about that individual's resolve.

Rin was wearing an expression on her face as if she understands Kirara reason for the face. "This is Lord Sesshomaru's _personal_ bathhouse so everyone is not allowed in."

For some reason, that seem to reassure her annoyance, "If Rin wants me to enjoy what this place has to offer then I'm sure a little bath wouldn't hurt."

Rin beams her a wide smile before Kirara remove herself from on top of Ah-Uh's saddle before she turn to aid Rin down to the ground.

The pair strolls hand in hand toward the entrance of the bathhouse with wide grins on their face.

1111

"I didn't think that your little plan would actually work?" A guard with full-body armor ask his counterpart to his left.

"That's because you hardly give me any credit when its due." The other guard response while turning to face his counterpart to his right.

"I mean you still seem visibly upset that you weren't able to finish what you started. Am I right?" the guard speak up again.

"If it wasn't for him interfering then I would have been satisfied." The other guard retorts.

"Besides while you go out on your personal vendetta, I will be scouting through that lovely group of men that this kingdom has to offer." The guard claim.

"Ew…I don't want to hear that." The other guard state in visible disgust.

"They should be here within a day or so time period. I already know you still want to go through with the plan."

"Good then, in a couple day our so we will make our presence known in the West Kingdom." The guard speaks in a darken tone while looking down at his hand.

1111

Makoto, Toshu and Kenichi manage to trail Sesshomaru all the way to his home as they made sure to strictly adhere to the order that their leader issued to them.

'_It seems as if they're all accounted for.' _Sesshomaru thought to himself when he enters his home after mentally counting how many men of Kirara's men made it.

When the traveling group crosses the entrance threshold, they were greeted by two rows of maids on the left and butlers on the right.

Sesshomaru pause at the far end of the maid's line, "Show them to their quarters on the east wing."

"Hello and welcome, my name is Miranda and I will be showing you where you will be staying. So if you will follow me, we will be going to the east wing or the guest side of the castle." A maid introduces her once they made it to the end of both lines.

Makoto, who was second-in-command, came forth, "Thank you ma'am. Everyone make sure you keep up and don't have wandering eyes."

"Ye sir." They gave a rousing unified answered broaching Jaken to comment on how wild they were to his Lord Sesshomaru.

Once again his statement was ignored by Sesshomaru, who was in his own thoughts, _'They're very loud but they match their leader's personality.' _

"Jaken." He calls for the toad imp, who appears to be in ecstasy after hearing his Lord call his name.

'_I must be in a dream…oh don't let me wake from it.' _Jaken thought after approaching Lord Sesshomaru.

"I need you to take this to the bathhouse. Make sure you swap the clothes and bring every item back here." Sesshomaru issue Jaken his order before turning away from him and walking down the hall.

'_I wonder what he wants me to deliver?' _he thought to himself before a butler hand him brown wrapping with a braided rope holding the paper in piece and a medium size box.

As his curiosity was rising, his duty that was personally assigned to him by his Lord Sesshomaru using his name quickly replace the former feelings.

"_I need you to take this to the bathhouse. Make sure you swap the clothes and bring every item back." _Jaken repeat the order from Lord Sesshomaru in his head before taking his leave.

1111

"Ms. Kirara," Rin calls out to the older woman who was sitting across from her, "Do you have any siblings?"

Kirara lifts her head up so she could look at Rin, "Yes I do but they're all around the world."

"So do you miss them?" Rin inquires since she was interested at the fact that Kirara had siblings.

Kirara ponders about the answer to that question for a minute. "Yeah, actually I do, but I try to stay so busy that I won't have any free time to think about them. I mean don't misjudge me for that. Its just that I mean I'm still concerned about their health and safety but knowing them they're doing just fine."

"So how many siblings do you have?" Rin question as she wonders if Kirara had all brothers or sisters or maybe there was a mix of the two.

"There are five of us, there are three boys and two girls including me in the litter." Kirara recall as that seem to stir up some old family memories within her.

"What's its like to have a sister?" Rin pose, as she was curious as to how her and her sister got along.

Kirara had to control her eyes from rolling at Rin's question about her sister. "Oh you know," she waves her hand at Rin, "typical siblings arguing and bickering."

Rin's eyes enlarged and twinkled at the thought, "I wish I had a sister too Ms. Kirara! So we could do things together just like you and your older sister do."

It was not until then that it hit Kirara. _'Rin never mentioned that she had any brothers or sisters let only parents. I wonder did something happen to them when she was younger?'_

"Well how about this, you can be my little sister. Does that sound like a deal to you?" Kirara propose to the little girl after seeing her face falter.

"Really, Ms. Kirara?" Rin ask with joy evident in her tone as she leans in closer to Kirara.

"I already treat you like a younger sister so welcome to the pack!" Kirara declares with her eyes closed and a wide smile on her face.

She begins to laugh when she watch Rin's victory dance, "Thank you so very much Ms. Kirara."

"One thing," Kirara hold up her index finger with the rest of her fingers bent into her fist. "If we are to be official sisters then you have to drop the miss from in front of my name. You can call me Kirara or Aneki or Oneechan or Neechan, does that sound like a deal?"

Rin nods her head up and down as the feeling of having a sibling felt refreshing to her. _'I finally have a big sister!'_

"Ms. Kirara," Rin starts off but receive no response from Kirara, "oh that's right, Onee-chan?"

Kirara turn her attention toward her after hearing the proper title for her, "Yes what is it, imouto?"

It was then that she notice that there were some tears rolling down Rin's face before swimming over to where she was sitting and enclose her in her arms.

"Its alright. I'm right here." Kirara calmly reassures the little girl while rubbing Rin's head with her free hand and gently rocking her.

Meanwhile inside of the dressing rooms, Jaken was carrying out the mission that Lord Sesshomaru ordered him to fulfill.

'_So these clothes are absolutely too big for Rin…so they must be for that stupid cat woman.' _He concluded when he heard a sneeze from inside of the hot springs.

'_I need to make this quick. If I don't complete this mission Lord Sesshomaru may never call me by name ever again.' _Jaken thought inwardly before removing the contents of Kirara's basket out on to the floor and replace it with the wrapped gift and small box.

"We should get out. After all, we don't want to look prunes now do we?" Jaken overhear the filthy cat demon pose to Rin.

Rin laughes at the thought of becoming a prune and response with "It would be fun to look like that though!"

Jaken had to make his escape now or risk being seen and having Lord Sesshomaru's plans go to waste. _'If it is for my Lord I shall run like the wind.' _

When Kirara and Rin stroll into the dressing room, it was the same way as they left it. Rin runs over to her personal bin and pulls out her clothes to change into.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Rin. It was better then I expected." Kirara thanked the little girl who wearing a wide smile on her face.

She then makes her way over to her bin when she immediately noticed that something was different, _'Wait a minute… my cloak isn't here.' _

Kirara scoured through the entire side of her dressing room but to no avail did she locate her missing cloak let only her clothes.

"Is there something wrong, onee-chan?" Rin inquires after noticing the look of confusion mixed with anger was apparent on Kirara's face.

"Yes there is. Do you see my cloak over there, imouto?" she poses to her while watching Rin search through the other baskets but came up empty handed too.

"Did you check your bin? Your clothes could still be in there and your cloak could be the only thing that's missing." Rin suggest to Kirara.

"Let me check…" Kirara says to the brunette before turning back to face her basket before thinking to herself. _'I hope you're right, Rin.'_

'_What is this?' _

1111

Sesshomaru awaited in one of the many rooms in his castle that laid barren except for a pillow so he could rest.

Jaken appears in front of him once he manages to finally settle down into a comfortable position.

"My lord the package that you ask me to replace with the neko-youkai clothes has been a success. I have her filthy clothes right here for you, is there something that you would like for me to do with this?" Jaken report before asking his question.

"Keep them there. You're dismissed." Sesshomaru command in two-fractured sentence before Jaken rose to his feet and left his lordship alone with that cat-demon's clothes.

'_I'm so glad that I was able to make Sesshomaru's wish come true.' _He thought to himself with a hidden smile and joy evident in his tone.

1111

"What is it, onee-chan?" Rin inquires when she notices that Kirara stood complelty still as if she was a statue with the basket held out.

Kirara froze on sight when she realize exactly what was in the basket. _'You have got to be kidding me.' _

"Is there something wrong?" Rin repeats her question since she was too short to see what was inside of the basket.

"I have no luck when it comes down to coming to a bathhouse. I think I'm cursed!" Kirara declares before quickly placing the basket back in its original spot.

Kirara occupies the small bench, as it seem that she just could never win when it came down to it.

Rin makes her way around to where Kirara was sitting and take a seat along side of her with her back facing her.

Kirara release a sigh of frustration before standing to her feet, pulling out the basket, and placing it right beside Rin.

"Do you know what this is imouto?" Kirara question Rin while pointing to what was inside of the basket.

Rin turns her head to look and see a small box that was place on top of a wrapped item with a braided rope holding it into place.

'_So Lord Sesshomaru did it.' _Rin thought to herself after seeing the item.

"Uh, Aneki," Rin speaks up after lifting the box out of the basket and place it on the side of the basket.

Kirara glances over at Rin, who takes the last of it out of the basket, before placing the basket back in its original position.

"What is it?" Kirara inquire, as the look on her face seem to tell her that she knew something about those particular items.

"It belongs to…"


	18. Chapter 18

"It belongs to Lord Sesshomaru." Rin says as she points to the clothing item that Kirara currently held in between her grasps.

Kirara returns her attention to the kimono that was present in her hand before she begins to inspect the detail of the fabric. It was a mid-thigh length powdery white color with a darker white undergarment underneath there was also a cluster red chrysanthemums on the left side of the collar.

"There's an obi in here too along with some getas and some shorts." Rin points out as she leans her upper body over the side of the woven basket and produces the said items.

Kirara could only stare at the items that were in front of her when the scent of a familiar toad imp catches her sense of smell.

"I think I know how who took my clothes." Kirara mutters to herself but Rin heard what she said when she plopped down on the wooden bench in the dressing room.

"What did you say Aneki?" Rin pose to the older woman with a confused expression present on her face.

Kirara turns her head in the direction of her adopted "younger sister" as her eyes glances down at the obi and then to the kimono in her hand.

"Hey Rin," She calls out to the younger girl while shifting the fabric in between her thumb, index and middle finger. "Yes what is it?"

As a plan formulates in Kirara's head, she return her gaze to Rin when she inquires to the girl, "Can you help me with the obi?"

A wide smile stretches across Rin's face when she heard her "older sister" ask her to help her with the kimono.

1111

"Does anybody know where Lady Kirara went after we spilt up?" Toshu poses to the group as they were getting settled in to their new home.

The others seem to respond by shaking their heads in a no fashion or shrug their shoulders up down as they were moving their personal items around.

"What about you Makoto, do you know what happened to Lady Kirara?" He redirects his question to their second-in-command.

Makoto pause and turn their attention to the group before he answers Toshu's question with, "She just ordered me to make sure that we stayed together and that we remained close to Lord Sesshomaru."

A look of relief seem to sweep across the room after hearing Makoto's answer and chimes in, "I haven't seen Lady Rin either."

"That's because Lady Rin is with Lady Kirara and they took off somewhere on Ah-Uh." Makoto informs the group of where Lady Rin was.

"Good then. That means she is in good hands." Kenichi speaks once he finishes settling in to his new bed.

The sound of knocks could be heard as the group attention turn toward the door to see Miranda walk through the door.

"Lord Sesshomaru has requested your presence so please follow me." She informs the group once she enters inside of the room.

1111

'_I can't believe I going to spending the rest of my life here.' _Kirara thought to herself after Ah-Uh lands in the surrounding area, which encompass the West Kingdom.

Rin maintains her hold on the reins as she guides the dragon horse over to what Kirara would assume to be was a stable.

"Ah Lady Rin, I see you have arrived back from the bathhouse." A tall slender male about the age of his late sixties greets Lady Rin once he approaches Ah-Uh with a set of steps.

Rin wears a genuine smile on her face when her sights land on the older man as she replies with, "It was definitely refreshing."

Yamato then helps the two ladies off the saddle of Ah-Uh when he immediately noticed a stranger in Rin's presence.

"And who might be this lovely young lady that is traveling with you?" Yamato inquires to the identity of Kirara before he realizes what she was wearing.

"Oh my," Yamato mutters to himself but was heard due to Kirara's sharp hearing when she notices him bow at the waist. "My sincerest apologies…my name is Yamamato."

Kirara return the greeting in the same fashion and introduces herself by her name, which cause Yamamato to speak once again. "If you don't mind me saying this, your eyes hold a lot of passion in them. Don't change that for anyone."

She was taken aback but the older male's observation before she hears him mention, "Lord Sesshomaru is definitely luckily to have found someone like you."

Kirara felt that she had gain another ally on her side after she had talked with Yamamato, _'Well at least there is some understanding people here.' _

Rin and Kirara parted ways with Yamamato, who offered her more kind words and advice, which brings a smile to her face.

1111

"I wonder why Lord Sesshomaru requested us to be in the foyer when he clearly doesn't care for us." Kenichi states the obvious as the group follow Miranda to the foyer.

"From what I can tell, he is some we definitely have to keep our eye on." Makoto agrees with Kenichi's observation.

"I can't even begin to imagine what is going on in Lady Kirara's head after she found out that she had to be his mate." Toshu notes their boss's feelings about the entire situation.

"Shush, we're here." Makoto quickly shushes his comrades when he notice that they were now walking in the foyer.

1111

Makoto, Toshu, Kenichi and the rest of the group was waiting in the foyer along with Lord Sesshomaru and his subordinate, Jaken.

"I don't think I will ever get use to this feeling." Toshu confesses to Makoto in a whispered tone when his eyes landed on Sesshomaru.

"None of us will." Kenichi chimes in when he hears Toshu's statement as they continue to kept chatter up around them.

"I still can't believe that in a couple of days our leader will be married." Makoto adds his opinion in to the conversation.

"My lord you should kick this loud and obnoxious bunch out of your castle." Jaken suggests to Lord Sesshomaru, who merely ignores what his subordinate told him.

'_I don't care for them. As long as it keeps Kirara around then I really could care less.' _He inwardly thought before his attention along with everyone else in the foyer turn to the front door.

'_Here she comes….'_

1111

Kirara smelt a cluster of familiar scents along with the stench of a mutt and a toad as she and Rin approached the front door of the castle.

'_This is my new home.' _She thought in disappointment until she could feel physical contact from none other than Rin, who had grabbed her hand.

She glances down at the little girl, who was wearing a large smile on her face, which seems to transfer over to her own face.

"Let's go." Kirara finds herself saying to Rin as the twin front doors open up, which allows them to walk inside of the castle.

1111

"Is that you Lady Kirara?" Toshu questions when his eyes land on their leader, who was wearing girly clothes instead of her typical warrior attire.

"That can't be her, where is our leader at Sesshomaru? We want her back now!" Kenichi protests with his index finger pointing at Sesshomaru.

Kirara's left eyebrow twitches at the comment as a visible vein throbs against her temple while she clenches her left hand in a shaking fist with her eyes closed. "Of course it's me you idiot!"

Rin exchanges glance between Kirara to her men as she thought their reactions were rather funny when she can hear Kirara's voice chime in. "Unfortunately someone decided that it was fun to pull a prank by swapping my clothes out for these."

Sesshomaru merely observe the interactions of what was going on before his eyes and maintain his silence yet his eyes were directed at Kirara.

'_It fits her perfectly.' _He thought as he had to reward his seamstress for being able to create something after he described Kirara's body type to her.

"I mean it's not often that we see you in those types of clothes." Kenichi attempts to redirect their leader's current fury away from the group.

"It shouldn't matter to you how I dress correct?" Kirara retorts as her fist still shake from their initial reaction.

They guys glance at each other before they turn their attention to their head man whenever Kirara would be absent from the group.

"Alright everyone, let's pipe down," Makoto calms down the group with his stern tone, which cause a satisfied expression on her face. "My lady it doesn't matter how you dress, the group and I all know of your wraith and would like to avoid venturing into that territory."

This seem to be a calm feeling on Kirara as she merely nods her head up and down to show that she understood where Makoto was coming from.

"I knew there was a reason as to why I chosen you as my right hand man." She issues Makoto a compliment, which causes Sesshomaru to direct his attention to the silver haired male conversing with Kirara.

'_I have to keep a close eye on him.' _He thought to himself after he observes the interactions between the two.

Kirara could feel Sesshomaru's gaze on her the entire time that she had entered through the door to the time she talked to her men.

She glances over her shoulder and confirms that it was indeed true yet the sight of Sesshomaru brings back all of the hate she held for him.

"I want my clothes back." She declares to him as she turns away from her men and stalks over to where Sesshomaru was standing.

He ignores her statement and instead retorts by saying, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kirara was taken aback by his statement but knew that he was going to deny the truth even if he was to have the clothes in his hand right now.

"So let's just pretend that since I just so happened to be led to your private bathhouse by the sweet and innocent Rin that you did have not send that poor excuse of an imp to swap my clothes with this kimono." Kirara theorizes as she tugs on the kimono that she was wearing.

Sesshomaru continues to ignore Kirara's angry tirade with the same blank stare present on his face.

"This is getting me nowhere." She mutters out of frustration since she knew that Sesshomaru was not going to admit to the obvious.

"What could those two be saying to one another?" Toshu poses to the group and Rin as they watch the pair's interaction with great curiosity.

Kenichi shrugs his shoulders up and down before he responses with, "Who knows but it seems as if Lady Kirara is holding her ground.

"Oh wait…" Makoto chimes in before he points out to the group, "I think she's leaving with him."

"So are you going to tell me why do I have this kimono on?" She inquires to him after he had ordered her to follow him.

"There is a special even that will be taking place tonight." He answers not really answering her question about the kimono.

Kirara's perks up after she hears what Sesshomaru said before she asks him another question, "A special event held here tonight?"

Sesshomaru nod his head, which cause a thought to conjure up in Kirara's head since she knew all too well how he likes to present himself around others.

"So if I act nicely for this event then you will have to owe me a favor." Kirara suggests to the Sesshomaru with a serious expression on her face.


	19. Chapter 19

Sesshomaru looked at Kirara's face to see that she was dead serious about her request on him owing her a favor.

"Fine...you can have only one if you follow through with tonight's plans, do you understand?" Sesshomaru amends the deal in his favor but it did not seem to really bother Kirara one bit.

He shakes his head left and right as he watches her retreating back when she almost trips over her _getas_ but manages to recover but it did not wavier her joy.

'_I finally have something going my way.' _Kirara thought to herself with a wide grin on her face that remained present once she reached her men, who were still in the foyer.

"My lady, you don't seem to be depress about the events that will be happening this evening." Kenichi comments after seeing their leader's jubilant expression on her face.

"What do you mean the events that will be happening tonight?" Kirara inquires since she vaguely remembers agreeing to Sesshomaru's terms about what was to happen later on this evening yet she did not know what it was that she had agreed to.

Her men exchanged looks among one another as if they were scared to say something to her. "Makoto...please explain to me what's all these whispers are about?"

"My lady, you were extremely misinformed," Makoto starts off since he could tell her face was beginning to fault from her joyous state. "Tonight is your…_engagement_ party."

She momentarily paused as she processed what Makoto told her sink in when she realized that Sesshomaru dubbed her once again, "Ah you got to be kidding me."

'_Our leader is so obviously to the tricks that Sesshomaru pulls on her…' _the men in the group all shared similar thoughts about their leader denseness.

"Excuse me, Lady Kirara," the woman who had fetched her earlier, whose name is Miranda, called out for her.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Lord Sesshomaru ordered me to show you and your men to the reception area." Miranda quickly explains to the raven haired leader why she was currently standing in front of them.

"Does it have to be right now Miranda? Why can't we wait for a few more hours or so?" Kirara questions not realizing that it was almost going on six in the afternoon.

"My lady it is almost six in the afternoon, where's your brain today?" Makoto informs her.

"What! It's already six o'clock in the afternoon…" she repeated to herself when she looked up to see strands of black hair tucked behind her ear.

"No!" She mentally faints before regaining her composure once again as if the incident did not happen at all.

'_But if I fall through with the plan tonight then he will owe me a favor…so I just have to suck it up.' _Kirara thought as she had gained her resolve against Sesshomaru.

"Alright Miranda led the way," Kirara supplied an answer with an unnoticed grin on her face when she gave her response.

'_Once again our leader has gone off the deep end…' _they all thought together while shaking their heads in disbelief at Kirara's sudden shift in behavior.

The group traveled behind Miranda, excluding Lady Kirara, who opted to walk side by side of the servant to Lord Sesshomaru.

"Psh, Miranda." She whispers to the maid, who seems to have heard it and casts her gaze over toward Kirara's direction.

"Do you know how this engagement party works? As you can see, I'm a person who doesn't take to well to surprises. I would be in your debt if you could ruin the surprise and tell me what will happen." Kirara proposes to the brunette haired maid.

Miranda nodded her head to show that she had agreed with the plan, "Lord Sesshomaru had instructed me earlier to tell you the format of the party anyway."

'_Can I at least be one step ahead of the white haired dog?' _she asked herself in disbelief after hearing what Miranda just told her.

"Your men are guests and will enter in along with other guests. They already have a reserved table to your right. Lord Sesshomaru said that you valued your men as your family so he placed them on your right hand side." Miranda issues out the first set of directions.

'_So he actually took her/my choice into consideration?' _Kirara and the group thought in disbelief after hearing Miranda's statement.

"Hey," "Did you guys hear what you have to do?"

"Yes ma'am." She receives a unified answer to her question before giving Miranda the signal to continue talking.

"Once the Lord greets everyone to make sure that they're in their proper seating arrangement, he takes the place at the far end of the room before someone announces your arrival. Secondly, you walk in until you reach Lord Sesshomaru, you bow to your knees, stay there till he tells everyone to be seated, rise to your feet, face the crowd, bow again and you take your place to the left of him. Then the ceremony begins. Afterwards, you two are to exchange gifts with one another." Miranda finished up with her assigned duty and felt relief that she did her job the exact way she was instructed.

Miranda noticed that Kirara's face contoured when she had told her that she would have to bow in front of Lord Sesshomaru until everyone is seated for the event.

"That sounds like a bunch of bull to me." Kirara voices her true opinion of the situation.

She merely sighs before responding to Miranda's directions from Sesshomaru himself, "So that's all I have to do…I can't believe that I am agreeing to this."

"It is settled then…we will put on the biggest act in all of our history and that's to act civil. I believe it's rather simple if we all stick in this together. So what do you all think?" She turns and asks her men.

They all kneeled to their knees before Kirara when Makoto speaks up from the mass, "You have our guarantee that we will follow through as you will to our lady."

'_It's amazing how she has captured their respect and admiration and secured their willingness to carry a mission out to the fullest extent.' _Miranda thought to herself when the men rose back to her feet and Kirara turn to face her.'_Who exactly is this woman that Lord Sesshomaru has chosen to be his bride?' _

"We will keep this secret among us okay? So try not to spill it?" She informs the woman in front of her, who catches Miranda off guard, _'She hardly knows me yet she's entrusting me with such a delicate matter such as this.' _

The brunette woman felt as if she was compelled to agree with this woman since she had a strong aura around her.

It was then after they finished their conversation, Kirara had stuck her hand out in front of Miranda pausing her in the middle of her tracks.

"Is there something wrong, Lady Kirara?" Miranda inquires about the sudden stop in their pace. She watches Kirara sniffing the air with her nose.

"I'm going to need for you to hide among my men. There are two very dangerous people approaching us and I don't want you to get hurt, do you understand me?" Kirara instructs her not looking at her but instead focusing further down the corridor they had to walk.

Miranda immediately froze in her tracks, as she was never good when people sprang something as serious as this on her.

"Makoto." She whispers this time when Miranda felt strong hands dragging her backwards to the middle of the group, who had in turn huddled closer together.

"Bend your head and keep your eyes to the floor so they won't notice you." Miranda hears one of them whisper those instructions to her and fearing for her life she complied.

'_As long as I don't die today…' _Miranda gained her resolve and was determined to follow through with her inward thought.

"Why are you here in the West Kingdom? You can show yourself since I already figured out that it was _you_." Kirara spoke to the darkness for a few minutes.

'_Where are you two?' _she asked herself as her eyes scanned the area until she locked in on two silhouettes who had approached them.

"So it seems as if our presence has been compromise…how long have you known Kirara?" the voice asks as the sound of their footsteps were heard coming closer to them.

"It's not like you to take cover, if I recall that wasn't one of the reason why I gave you that seal. Besides it has a ability all of its own…what it is I will not tell you but your scent hit me when I arrived at the gate…_Bankostu_."

Indeed their were two members from the Shinchitinai that had emerged from the darkness revealing their faces to the group.

"Why it is good to see that you are taking good care of that seal by the way." Kirara threw in there to lighten the tension in the room.

"We will have our fight here in the West Kingdom but since you will busy for the night we shall wait till after you and Sesshomaru wed. The day after your honeymoon is when my brothers will be due to arrive here." Bankostu explains why they were there.

Kirara pauses to think about the answer when she frankly did not care as long as she still wanted to fight Bankostu, why does it matter if I upset Sesshomaru?

"So until then congratulations on being wedded to one of the most powerful demons in the world…I'm quite sure his title will get you somewhere in life." Bankostu uses that as a way to pass by her and her group of men.

"Whew that was close…" Kirara says after releasing a held breath before turning towards her men.

"Alright Miranda it's safe to come out…" Kirara gave her a reassured statement when her men parted ways and permitted her to leave from within the group of men.

"You're going to have to promise me that you will forget about what happened here a couple of minutes ago, okay?" Kirara asks the brunette woman, who still seemed to be in shock about what happened.

Miranda nodded her head up and down before she returned their attention back to the job that she had to do.

'_For some reason I feel at easy when I'm around her…'_ she thought when she spots the at ease expression on Kirara's face. '_She's very friendly and protective of her friends…I'm jealous.' _

"Well we are here…. "

1111

Makoto, Kenichi, Toshu and the rest of Kirara's "family" takes their intended seats in a small section themselves after they had entered the reception room along with the other guests.

"I have never seen a room like this that have individual spaces that's not on the floor level." Kenichi exclaims when he realizes that they had to climb down into their seats.

"It is just as Miranda said our seats would be…to the right of Kirara." Toshu mentions after surveying his surroundings to see guests quickly filing in to their respective seating order.

"Makoto…" Kenichi calls for the older man's attention. "Yes what is it Kenichi?"

"Do you think Kirara's siblings heard about the wedding?" Kenichi whispers loud enough for only the three of them to hear or at least that's what they thought.

'_So the fiery Kirara has siblings…huh?' _Sesshomaru thought to himself once he overheard her men's conversion. He was fully unaware of that about Kirara.

"No. If anything she probably wants us to keep quiet so we will not inform Sesshomaru about the thing she keeps most quiet about." Makoto says before shushing their conversation about her siblings.

Jaken made his way out from the side of where Lord Sesshomaru had just emerged from before clearing his throat "Everyone, we're about to start the ceremony so will you all please rise to your feet?"

Their eyes immediately shoot towards the door where their leader would emerge from and make her walk of "shame" down to where Sesshomaru would be awaiting for her.

"I just hope she knows how to walk in those getas." Toshu continues to whisper to Kenichi, who silently agreed with the man while Makoto silently prayed that she would not take a unintentional tumble.

"It is my deepest honor and joy to present to you the one who caught our Lord Sesshomaru's eyes."

They heard whispers from the crowd as they all became curious, excluding those who already know, as to who it was that would emerge from the doorway.

"His fiancée, future wife and future Lady of the West Kingdom…I present to you Lady Kirara." Jaken completes his introduction before he takes a seat next to Rin was across from them.

Makoto and the others watched as the heavy twin doors swung open with ease and there she was…it was their leader, mentor, sister figure to them and most of all their own princess standing before their eyes.

People catches their breath as they watch the charming raven haired beauty, who seem to be radiating with joy or so they assume it was joy, as the flowers in her hair seem to compliment her kimono, which was suited for a woman of her size and complexion.

'_Take as long as you need…just try not to stumble and fall into one of those pits full of guests.' _Kirara reminds herself since she was not used to walking in _getas_.

Kirara wore a huge smile on her face the entire stretch that seperated her from Sesshomaru. When she had glanced down she spotted some familiar faces that she had come to know and love each in their own special way.

A new sense washed over her before she finally made it to her destination. She stood in front of Lord Sesshomaru, when she thought to herself, _'So far so good…'_

She did not look at Sesshomaru dead in his face so she would not give him the satisfaction that she was now willing and obedient but was only a ploy so she could obtain what wanted.

'_Oh this is where Miranda said I must bow with my knee touching the ground first before placing the other knee on the ground as well.' _She thought to herself when she slightly hovered over the pillow.

"Remember to bow… She heard someone told her but it seemed as if her body was not listening to her rational thought process.


	20. Chapter 20

Kirara could not bring herself to bow in front of someone she held absolutely no respect for let only a shred of dignity but somehow she found herself asking this of him.

"Give me the order." She mutters under her breath as she silently hoped that he was the only one who heard her request of him.

Sesshomaru chooses to comply with her order since it would save face for the both of them. "Kirara,"

Through the loud whispers of the other guests, Makoto and the others could hear a "ting" noise due to them being so used to hearing the bell's frequency.

They merely observes their leader willingly take a knee in front of Lord Sesshomaru with her head and eyesight focused in on his feet.

'_He had to give her the order to kneel…' _Makato mentally notes before hearing Jaken's raspy voice speak up "Now will everyone take their seats."

The crowd of guests seem to obey the order since it was tradition and quietly takes their seat but keeps their attention toward the ruler of the land and the woman that would soon become his wife.

Kirara easily rose to her feet after she had anticipated that the entire crowd of people behind her had taken their place.

She places the front portion of her _getas_ so that her toes were pointing downward before doing an about face until she came face-to-face with the crowd.

Kirara was slow to squat until both of her knees were on the floor and extends her upper body outward as if she was a servant.

They could hear more incoherent whispers that was probably directed at them or either their lady, who was acting out her role to a "t".

'_That collar must be working in overdrive if it made Lady Kirara bow like a servant.' _Toshu thought to himself after witnessing what their leader did in front of a vast number of strangers, who barely knew her fiery personality.

She quickly rose back to her knees and nearly hopped back on to her feet since she had to occupy the seat on the left hand side of Sesshomaru's chair.

Sesshomaru silently observed every single one of Kirara's movements to see if she would slip up but so far she was sticking to her promise.

'_I wonder how she will be able to keep that farce up?' _he inwardly asks himself before turning his attention back to his guests.

Jaken once again cleared his throat so that the attention was on him. "Within three days prior from today, the wedding ceremony to join these two individuals together in holy matrimony will take place before noontime."

The crowd erupted in a round of applause out of anxiousness combined with excitement for the anticipation of the big day.

"Now, we will continue on with the schedule arrangements as the Lord and his fiancée will meet and greet each and every one of our highly esteemed guests."

Makoto, Toshu and Kenichi glanced over to their lady to discover her face still composed but something in their gut told them their leader was waging a mental war against the man, who was sitting on her right.

'_I don't believe this! I have to meet with every single last person in this room! What more humiliation do I have to undertaken as this inu-youkai's future wife?' _

A hand was extending in her direction, as she was slow to trace the owner of that hand to belong to none other than Sesshomaru himself.

She releases a sigh of defeat before taking his hand that was in front of her and found it surprisingly warm. This reaction causes her to glance up at Sesshomaru holding his gaze on her.

"Did you just see that?" Toshu casually leans over toward Kenichi so it would not draw any unwanted attention to them.

"You mean that moment between Lady Kirara and Sesshomaru? Oh yes I did and I have the front row seat to it all." Kenichi answers back in a whispered tone.

Kirara was very vigilant in making sure that she moves at a comfortable pace so she would not stumble in front of watchful eyes that surrounded her.

When they approached their first table, Kirara got a whiff of their scent first before she had mentally declared that they were all youkai from the inu-line.

'_Just great my first table is none other than the dogs…' _she thought to herself, as she had to mentally prepare herself for their battering and attacks.

She at least breath a sigh of relief when she found that it was all men in the square and could tell her scent was coming in loud and strong.

"So Lord Sesshomaru, you just had to step out of the race to acquire a mate, didn't you?" one of them asked immediately once they approached.

"Since when were subordinates, let only my guards, question my choices." Sesshomaru retorts while maintaining that authoritative tone toward the men in front of her. Kirara noted that there was something different about the way he treated the group.

'_He seems almost…laid back in his nature. He must trust them enough to easy up on his normal stone like personality.' _

When she was deep in thought, she could feel all eyes on her or rather her body in particular, "Even though she may not be an inu-youkai, she's quite the catch…is she always this _docile_?"

Sesshomaru casts his gaze over to see Kirara with a peeved expression quickly flashes across her face before returning to her mask.

'_She really wants me to be indebt to her by awarding her this favor…' _he thought as by now he would have thought she would have cracked.

"I mean rumors say that neko-youkai are quite…fiercesome in their nature or at least that's what the whispers have been saying." Another one spoke among the group as they once again pointed out what her race was.

'_Oh boy, they don't know how right they are…' _Kirara thought to herself when one of their statements brought her train of thought to an abrupt halt.

"Extremely fertile with wild, crazy, sex packed vixens such as this lovely lady that is gracing us with her refined beauty before our very own eyes."

Kirara had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes at that falsified rumor that she heard from one of the men, who had sat before her.

"That's not all what the rumors mention to, my Lord Sesshomaru…women like that are usually concealing a knife on them waiting for you to fall asleep before making their escape with your precious area in their possession."

'_Finally someone gave me an accurate read! Take heed to your friend warning…' _she smirk a devilish smirk inwardly that is.

"I have taken all the precautious that are needed for this one that stands before you. I silently feared if I didn't have that collar on we would not be speaking at this time." Sesshomaru replies to his guard with his eyes closed before reopening them when he finished.

"Well if our lord feels so strongly about this woman in front of us then we shall abide by our lordship feelings. May blessings rain down and blossom into fidelity and prosperity for our Lord and his future wife. Here here."

'More like you're blessing me with a whole bunch a bull. All five of you will be the top five on my to kill list! So watch your back or I will still your booty and your precious jewel box.' She inwardly thought before bowing at the waist to accept the toast.

Kirara silently prayed that she would not have to run in to any more rude or obnoxious youkai or maybe a combination of both like the group that they just left.

However there were certain things about them that she was impressed by. Even though Sesshomaru constantly demanded respect, they showed it in a truly genuine fashion, which reminded her of her gang. This allowed Sesshomaru to relax a little simply by hearing them bad mouthing his fiancée. The primary reason was because they had a full-blown conversation with one another.

Luckily for her, the rest of the guests were easy going and friendly people, who were tolerate to her particular race, as they all seem to wish for fidelity and prosperity in the marriage.

If it were up to her, she would have had their tongues slowly ripped out of their mouths so they could feel her pain ticking by the seconds or maybe the minutes.

However, she made a promise that she was willing to follow through. Even if it might have strongly been the presence of the collar that was around her neck or her strong personality for her good behavior, either way she wanted to win.

"So it seems as if you're holding up rather well, my lady." Makoto's voice directs her attention back on to her final group.

She releases a sigh of relief and eases her tense shoulders, "I tell you that white haired bastard behind me doesn't make a challenge easy but the flames within my heart burn ever so brightly!"

Her men gave her a round of applause for her statement, "That was eloquently spoken, my lady."

Sesshomaru kept a proper distant from the group as Kirara did when she was around his guards.

"I'm surprised that he knows so many sophisticated people that have a warm spirit about them. I guess it needs to rub off on him a little." Kirara states knowing all to well that Sesshomaru could hear everything she was saying.

"Times up," Sesshomaru quietly announces to her before taking his place at her side causing the attention to shift to him instead of her.

Kirara flashes him a weird expression before it hit her that at the moment she had to willingly obey whatever it was for her to do at the engagement party.

"I will speak to you all at the end of this, okay?" she informs them while giving them a wink before accepting Sesshomaru's hand. They soon made their way back to the front of the room.

"If that's the end of everyone blessings for the couple then one toast is well deserve before we conclude the program with the exchanging of gifts." Jaken declares to the crowd.

'_Gifts? I didn't give any gifts?' _she thought to herself before seeing numerous servants appear in front of them with items in their hands.

'_What's the meaning of this?' _Kirara asks herself as she was looking at the items in each of the servant's hands or on a table.

"The first gift is the _hakama_," Jaken announces when Kirara sees a servant approach Sesshomaru with a folded cloth in their hand. "It represents fidelity."

'_Fidelity,_' Kirara inwardly thought before seeing another servant approach them with what appears to be shells.

"Next is _naga-noshi_, which expresses the sincere wishes of the person who gives you this gift." Jaken announces before moving on to the next item.

'_Is that money?' _she thought once her eyes landed on numerous red envelopes that were laid out on the surface of a table. "We have monetary gifts from the guests to the couple."

Kirara catches whiff of a strong scent of something while thinking, _'What's that smell?' _

"These three items that you see are _katsuo-bushi_ and _surume _to wish the couple for an enduring marriage. Last is the _konbu_ which symbolizes that the couple will have happy and healthy children." Jaken says as each of the servant hands them the respective items.

'_Who said anything about children? Not with this mutt to my left.' _Kirara disgustingly thought while cutting her eyes at Sesshomaru, who was handing her something that resembled white hair.

"_Shiraga_, a strong fiber used to show strong family ties." Jaken explains the meaning of what was in Sesshomaru's hand before a servant hands her a fan.

"_Suehiro_ symbolizes that you wish for their happiness and a bright and happy future." Jaken speaks up again causing Kirara to think, _'Happy? Yeah right…as if that's the adjective that I would use.'_

'_I smell something with alcohol in it.' _Kirara quickly thought when they were both given two different things.

"Lord Sesshomaru has the _yanagi-daru_, which I'm sure will be completely _filled _on wedding day." Jaken jokes with crowd, as they seem to take to the joke and laugh.

Kirara simply rolls her eyes before Jaken's voice speaks up, "_Lady_ Kirara has the _sake casks_, which represents her pledge of obedience and gentleness in the marriage."

'_A pledge of obedience and gentleness, oh no, I will make his life a total living hell!' _she wanted to scream but since she desperately wanted that favor so she kept her mouth closed.

"The last item that we have is the obi. It represents female virtue." Jaken explains when Kirara survey the cloth she thought it was very beautiful.

Kirara felt Sesshomaru's hand guides her so that now she was on the opposite side of where she previously stood as they were still facing the crowd.

'_We finally reached the end!" _Kirara mentally exclaims as she had to suppress her urge to jump and down by biting her lower lip.

Sesshomaru sort of knew that if Kirara really wanted that favor then she would have stuck it out to the end but from her actions today he was thoroughly impressed at her ability to handle hostile intentions from foreign people.

He simply takes a step forward to signal to Kirara that they were to start off on their walk down the aisle of guests.

Kirara maintains a genuine and warm smile toward those around her but it was secretly for an alternative purpose.

The audience continues to keep their glasses raised until the last of the couple was seen turning off to the right before taking a sip of their bubbly beverage.

Meanwhile outside of the ballroom and in the hallway with Sesshomaru and Kirara …

There was silence among the couple until the sound of rumbling was heard, which causes Sesshomaru to look at the source of the noise.

Kirara glances down at her stomach as it begins to create more noise signaling to its owner that it was being neglected.

She found herself grasping her stomach with her hands to at least quiet it down but it seemed to go against her wishes and made a louder noise than the previous time.

"If you're hungry then there is food in the dining room for you to eat." Kirara hears him suggest to her, which causes her to pause in her stride.

Sesshomaru notices that she was giving him a weird look on her face, "Okay, now you're starting to bother me with this nice guy routine."

He remains silent on responding to her statement but he did not have to stay quiet long before Kirara offered another rebuttal.

"By the way," she starts off her sentence, "the first group of people we encountered; you seemed to be relaxed in front of them. Do you trust them that much to let your guard down?"

'_So she was watching me the entire time then.' _He thought to himself before he decided to keep his guard up around the woman who stood in front of him.

"They're after all equivalent to me as you are to your group of men. Does that answer you question?" Sesshomaru gave a simple respond to Kirara's question.

Her eyes appears to expand after hearing his statement, "That would explain why they were trying to ruffle up my feathers and get under my skin. You should tell them that their antics were rather quite elementary."

"In all out honesty, they don't really care for you until you are officially my_ wife_. They were testing you on their own accord and free will to see if you were worthy to be at my side." Sesshomaru explains their behavior.

Kirara could not help but to laugh at what Sesshomaru just told her, "Oh…ouch…my stomach hurts too much now."

She catches her breath so she could make a full sentence, "It appears as if your men failed in their own mission by spilling out falsified information about _my _kind. Yet there were some things that they spoke of was true however…"

"I mean rumors say that neko-youkai are quite…fiercesome in their nature or at least that's what the whispers have been saying.", "That's not all the rumors mention Lord Sesshomaru…women like that are usually keeping a knife on them waiting for you to fall asleep before making their escape with your precious area in their possession."

"So don't try anything funny…but other than that you own me a favor now…" Kirara announces as she rubs it in his face before clutching her growling stomach from hunger pain.


	21. Chapter 21

Kirara discovered the dining hall to be on the rather extravagant side as it had a long rectangular shape table that could hold up to twenty or more seats. The windows were draped by red curtains and the floor was carpeted.

'_It doesn't seem as if he eats here often.' _She inwardly notes to herself since she could sense emptiness in the room.

"Are you not going to take a seat?" Sesshomaru inquires to her as she glances up from her observation of the dining hall meticulous decor.

"If you don't mind, I would at least like to make sure that my men receive something to eat." Kirara states her demand.

"That's why I appointed Miranda to you. From this day on, think of her as your personal servant," Sesshomaru response in an indifferent tone.

Kirara casually scans her entire surroundings but Miranda was nowhere to be found, _'Just great…where could she possibly be when I really need her?' _

However, the scent that she smelt from earlier at the engagement party was now present in the hallway. Those particular scents caused her to slightly tense up, "So _they_ will be eating with us too?"

Sesshomaru had already strolled over to his seat at the head of the table after he removed the seat to his left that signaled to Kirara that it was her designated seat.

She silently accepted the gesture and sat down while the source of the scent she smelt walked inside of the dining room along with Kirara's newly appointed maid.

"Lady Kirara," each one of her men formally greets her with a quick bow and takes their place on her left sitting in the order of importance with Makoto, Toshu, Kenichi and the others until all of the seats were filled.

The next group that enters was those who she had encountered at the engagement part. They were the inu-youkai who swore their upmost

Then it was those who she had encountered at the engagement party, who entered in next, that swore their allegiance to the man that sat on her left. "My lord, it's good to see you again."

They seem to have mirrored the same action as her men and sat at the dining table except they left two seats in between them and Sesshomaru.

Kirara signals for Miranda, who quickly appears by her side, before she whispers in the brunette haired woman's ear, "Who are we waiting for?"

"Master Jaken and Lady Rin," She whispers her response before it hits Kirara.

'_Where was Rin during the engagement party?' _she ponders to herself.

She suddenly felt disappointed at the fact that she did not keep up with Rin's whereabouts.

"Come on you stupid little girl! We're already late!" Jaken's voice could be heard down the hallway causing the people already in the dining room to turn in the direction of his voice.

"My apologies my lord, it seems as if it was harder to track down Rin tonight." Jaken offers his apology in the form of a bow. The pair soon made their way to their respective seats.

There was a brief silence among the strangers before Sesshomaru clears his throat to eliminate the quietness in the room.

"It would be awfully rude of us if we were to start dinner without knowing who it is that is sitting in front of us." Kirara hears one of Sesshomaru's guards mention.

"We are Lord Sesshomaru most trusted men as you are equivalent to your Lady. We serve to protect him, the land, and the people of the Western land. We total in the number of five with each of us guarding a specific area of the castle and region. I am the head of this force…my name is Akio." The inu-youkai with shoulder length curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes explain.

"My name is Kosei." The inu-youkai with short sable black hair and golden colored eyes introduces himself next.

Then the third inu-youkai with short brunette hair and dark brown eyes introduces himself next, "My name is Itsuki."

Next was the inu-youkai who introduced him, as "My name is Ryoji." He had salt and pepper colored hair with gray colored eyes.

The last one introduced himself, as "My name's Arashi." He had a fawn red hair color with black sesame colored eyes.

'_Aside from the crude remarks directed at me during the engagement party, they're quite handsome…' _she thought to herself as she found all five of them to be extremely attractive.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her men introduced themselves to those who sat across from them.

When she heard the last of her men introduce themselves, she felt that it was only courteous to greet them since they would soon be apart of her life whether or not she wanted them too. "My name is Kirara and I treasure these people to my right as if they were my own flesh and blood but it's still a pleasure to meet you all."

No further conversation was exchanged as the servants delivered the meal for the evening. The only thing that was heard was the sound of silverware clicking against the white marble plates.

'_I know that one of them has to say something about me so how do I go about having them reveal their true feelings.' _Kirara thought to herself before feeling slightly full.

"So Rin did you enjoy our little stop at the bathhouse?" Kirara inquires toward Rin, who was more than happy to pause in the middle of eating of her food to answer her question.

"Ah-Uh, simply enjoyed the ride through the city and would like to see you again." Rin answers her question with a beaming smile on her face.

"Lady Rin," the one whose name was Akio speaks up redirecting Rin's attention to him, "so Ah-Uh _allowed_ Lady Kirara to _mount_ him?"

"Does that really sound like such an impossible feat?" Kirara quickly inquires as to the reason why Akio would ask Rin such a question.

Akio cuts his glances over to his lord before returning his sights back to where Kirara was sitting at. "Ah-Uh doesn't necessary take too well to other people let alone s_trangers_ to mount him."

Kirara pauses as if to think of a rebuttal to what Akio just told her, "Is that so? Rin didn't tell me that Ah-Uh was that hostile toward new people. I guess I have this irresistible charm about me."

"I would have to agree. Ms. Kirara does have a bright aura! I like that we're sisters now, isn't that right onee-chan?" Rin asks with the same smile on her face.

That caught Sesshomaru, Jaken, and the other five men that sat alongside Rin off guard when they heard Rin's question.

'_Good job Rin! I knew I could count on you.' _Kirara silently praises the little girl's for catching up on her mental vibes.

Kirara simply laughs with her eyes closed before answering her with a wide smile, "That's right _imouto_!"

The girls shared a bout of laughter with one another, "So it seems as if Lady Kirara and Lady Rin has already established a sisterhood with one another. Wouldn't that work out to your advantage, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"If everyone is finished with their meals it is time for you to all leave." Sesshomaru spoke up with his eyes closed and an empty plate.

Kirara merely observes as those around her seem to closely follow the order and decides that she should go along with the flow.

Once they finished cleaning their area, the group left in a rather quiet fashion while Kirara thought that it was an order for her as well.

"Kirara," he mentions her name causing the bell to ring, "Stop exactly where you are and remain quiet in the process."

She felt as if someone stitched a zipper across her lips and zips them completely shut. She could not produce a single noise to warn her men that something was wrong.

"That order that I gave was not for you but was rather for everyone else." Sesshomaru mentions causing Kirara to cast her gaze at Sesshomaru.

Kirara could not speak a sentence due to the order that Sesshomaru gave her to remain quiet let only move to defend herself in case he might try something.

"You tried to start a riot at the dinner table tonight but it failed miserably. I do give you some type of credit for making my men take a rather strong liking to you." Sesshomaru quickly comments before adjusting the flowers that was in her bun.

'_Dang it…how could he figure that out?' _she mentally asks as she clearly thought she had the plan formulated in her head.

"So you thought that your primitive plan was going to go unnoticed by me? You should at least have some ounce of dignity for me." Sesshomaru claims with a small smirk on his face.

Kirara had muffled something under her breath as if to tell Sesshomaru that she had something on her mind and that she should at least be able to voice it.

"You can speak now." He gave her another order as Kirara felt her mouth being freed from an invisible force.

Kirara stared at Sesshomaru for a good minute, _'I can't run or hide or he will just call me back to him. What the heck can I do?' _

"Your men seemed to be smitten by my presence. Is that why you're so upset that you had called dinner to an end?" Kirara inquires in a teasing manner.

Sesshomaru simply lowers his eyes to a dead slit before leaning in to whisper in her ear and responding with, "You figured it out."

This caused Kirara's face to turn red from embarrassment at how bold he was coming off, "If you want to keep intact you should take a step back from me."

"Even if you could, you know it won't happen," he confidently mentions before leaning back away from her.

"Follow me." He orders her before turning away from her and making his way out of the dining room and back in to the hallway.

'_I didn't know that Sesshomaru was the jealous type.' _Kirara mentally notes to herself as she reveled in delight after discovering one of his weaknesses.

'_Just exactly where are we going?' _she thought to herself as she decides to focus in on her surroundings incase something fishy might go down and she would need to make a break for it.

The hallway shifts into the foyer when she realizes that she had to climb up flights of steps but instead of making a right they made a left.

'_This is starting to really bother me…' _Kirara thinks, as the ceilings on this end seem to be a little lower than the rest of the castle.

Sesshomaru continues on his pace before making it all the way down to the end of the hallway and pauses at a wooden door that had a rather large black dungeon lock on it.

'_So he's going to put me in the dungeon?' _Kirara thought when she hears the loud creaking noise of having the door opening.

"Go in." he instructs her as Kirara feels herself move against her own will and stops once she cross the threshold of the door.

The sound of the door slamming shut nearly causes her to leap out of her skin since she dreads hearing the lock being locked again.

"Follow." He ordered her once he passed by her on the walkway.

"There's a flight of steps coming up. I'm sure you can manage." Sesshomaru warns her before he makes his ascent on the steps.

'_What!' _she thought, as there was dim lighting in whatever room that they were currently standing in.

'_Well the next best thing I can do is crawl since I don't know how high the ceiling is from me to fly.' _She thought to herself when she shuffled until her foot hit the bottom of what appeared to be the start of the steps.

Kirara could not help but inwardly laugh at how she had to move around until she got the feeling of the steps.

Once she reaches the last of the steps, she cold feel a cold air breeze hit her warm body causing goose bumps to appear on her skin.

"Sesshomaru...what exactly is this place?" Kirara inquires as she pauses at the top step with her eyes wide open.

"I know you're not dumb, a little clueless maybe, but what is your first reaction to this room?" he questions while looking over his shoulder at her.

Kirara did not immediately respond to his question as she felt a lump suddenly develop in her throat before responding. "It's _your _bedroom."

"You should drop the _y_ in your statement." He interjects, which causes her to stare at the ground instead of looking him directly in the face.

"For once it seems as if you have nothing to say," he claims as he makes his way over to where she was standing.

'_Okay…just breathe. It's only a room nothing more and nothing less.' _She thought to herself but her eyes remained glued to the floor.

"Don't ever lower your gaze for anyone!" He suddenly proclaims, "It doesn't suit you at all." Kirara can feel his hand underneath her chin forcing her to look up at him.

"Shouldn't you be telling me the opposite of that especially since you want me to play the _docile _neko-youkai?" she inquires as she directly stares at him in the face.

"And you're back…" he mentions to her with his hand underneath her chin. "Besides it's not as exciting when you _are_ obedient and submissive."

"Never that…the instant you remove this thing from around my neck, we will have a fight and I will be the victor. I will leave this place with no worries." Kirara declares while pointing at the collar.

"I will make sure it never comes off then." Sesshomaru firmly states as it causes Kirara's eyes to focus in on him.


	22. Chapter 22

Kirara merely stares down at Sesshomaru for a couple of more seconds while trying to process what was happening at that moment.

"So it seems as if I'm the unlucky one who…" Her voice trails off as she deters her eyes to what appeared to be a balcony.

"…ends up in this hell hole." She concludes her sentence when she had the sudden urge to take off in to a mad dash, alert her men of the move and continue on with their normal day-to-day actions.

Unfortunately, she no longer had the privilege of making those rash decisions, which would often times lead her to unknown destinations and uncharted lands.

The next two days would ultimately steer her in a direction that she was forced in to due to that horrible thing that is currently around her neck. How she desperately wanted to rip it off and take her revenge for being enslaved.

'_I might end up losing my mind if I stay in this place.' _She comments to herself before an idea arose in her thoughts.

"Would you mind if I go out for a night run?" she seductively inquires when she return her gaze to his stoic face.

'_There she goes again trying to escape from me.' _He mentally notes to himself as he ponders over his answer for her sudden inquiry.

"If I permit you to leave then this will count as the favor that you earned from tonight." Sesshomaru strategically counters since he knew she would not budge if she had to use her favor.

'_And for some reason I knew he was going to say that.' _ She inwardly wonders to herself as she visibly rolls her eyes at the response he gives her.

Kirara chose to do the next best thing to calm her nerves and that was to tune her thoughts elsewhere. It was either that or Sesshomaru's precious castle would be burnt down before the rise of the morning sun.

Sesshomaru simply watches as Kirara takes a seat on the floor of the room with her legs crossed so that her ankles crossed one another and her forearms rested on her thighs.

"Since I'm not allowed to do anything of my own free will any more, I will meditate to keep my powers in check." Kirara announces once she takes her position on the floor.

He was thoroughly surprised at the fact that Kirara had countered his denial of her request by meditating.

For some reason Sesshomaru had a feeling that with the next two days, he will learn more about who Kirara really is.

1111

"Can you believe that Sesshomaru actually has bodyguards?" Makoto hears Toshu asks him while Kenichi fixes his futon.

"I would've thought that he was so powerful that he didn't really need any guards at his side." Kenichi adds in his opinion.

"Who knows? We haven't known him long enough to know his personality. The same thing applies to this future marriage between him and Lady Kirara." Makoto states his claim.

"It's all a sham! This marriage won't work at all!" Toshu declares before he goes on to mention, "You know divorce isn't that common among the full-breed youkai community."

"Toshu has a point there Makoto. Sesshomaru won't easily end it, especially once they realize what they have with one another." Kenichi chimes in before taking his spot on his futon.

"As long as we are by Lady Kirara's side then we shouldn't care what the circumstances are." Makoto declares in a tone of finality.

"Still I'm curious as to see how the wedding would turn out." Kenichi brings the subject from eariler back up.

"Come on now, Makato, you have to admit that you are just as curious as us to find out what will happen once these two days are up." Toshu comments as he displays his support for what Kenichi just said.

Makoto pauses before he takes his place on to the bed, "Fine, I want to see how this wedding would turn out as well but we won't know until the time comes."

The other two appeared to be extremely delighted with their second in command confession at what was the subject that they were conversing on at the moment.

"Well I don't know about you guys but in some odd way it will work out in the end. Then our lady will fall madly in love with Sesshomaru." Kenichi expresses his opinion before all three men vehemently denied the latter notion.

"One thing for sure…the wedding will not be dull." Toshu mentions before fatigue overcame there tired bodies and they nodded right of to sleep.

0000

"You know there is a bed you can at least sit on to meditate." Sesshomaru suggests when he realizes that Kirara was serious about meditating on the floor of the bedroom.

"If I said I was going to meditate then leave me the hell alone so I can properly do it." Kirara spoke to him as if he just any other youkai she encountered on her travels.

"Kirara," She hears him mention her name in a very stern tone, which causes the bell around her neck to ring, "Come here."

'_Oh_ _just great...now I have to answer to him…' _she inwardly mulls over to herself after her peace and sanity flew right out of the balcony at that moment.

"Stand in front of me." He orders her as her legs shift on their own from underneath her bottom as if she was no longer in control of them.

When she noticed that he was still in a seated position, she felt empowered that he was looking up at her but that feeling was fleeting as soon as he stood up.

'_And there goes my sense of strength…' _Kirara immediately reflects since she finds herself prone to thoughts of fleeting feelings and emotions.

"I'm not one of those demons you encounter on your mission or the men you travel alongside of so never forget your place when you are around me." He calmly warns her of her transgression.

'_I don't believe this mutt is telling me to watch my place.' _She speculated in disbelief after she processed what Sesshomaru had advised her not to do.

Sesshomaru deduced from her current facial expression that she was not at all satisfied with being told what to do by him.

Kirara really wanted to burn down the room she was currently in with Sesshomaru but her powers did not seem to come forward when she called for it.

"So this thing here..." she pauses in the middle of her question and points at the collar "...stops me from summoning my powers against you?" She inquires about one of the numerous abilities that the magical collar posseses.

"It seems as if you were quite serious about burning me alive, aren't you?" he poses a rhetorical question.

"You really what to know something, I already hate this place! If it was up to me, I would have already been arriving in a new town to exterminating a rouge youkai, who is terrorizing the elderly and the youth, but no you just had to take that away because of this stupid heirloom of yours! Instead of saving lives, I am instead dreading a wedding that I'm being force into by a selfish and ego centered inu-youkai, who was looking for a mate. I am assuming that no one wanted you so the best way to resolve your problem was to enslave someone to do your bidding." Kirara initated her irate tirade about her situation that was brought about by the youkai, who stood in front of her.

Sesshomaru heard her rant and rave about her current situation so much that it started too slightly annoy him when a thought emerged into his head.

Kirara was so busy expressing her undying haterd toward the white haired mutt that she did not realize that he was closing the marginal space that separated them from each another.

"And you know what…" she was interrupted in the middle of her sentence when she felt Sesshomaru's lips pressed against hers left her in a complete state of shock.

Kirara's mind could not process a fast enough reaction when she can feel one of his arms loop around her waist pressing their lower ends closer together while his other hand was firmly planted at the base of her neck.

Once her mind was able to register what was presently happening her body, she immediately became rigid as she attempted to push herself away from him but he had a rather strong grip.

"Let me go Sesshomaru!" Kirara loudly exclaims but he did not budge an inch away from her.

"Then answer this question…why are your cheeks red?" he poses to her causing her to react by trying to cover up her face but her arms were caught underneath his strong arms.

She did not provide a swift answer instead she chooses to merely ignore his question by fixing her gaze somewhere else other than Sesshomaru.

"I'm surprised that you don't have a response for me, Kirara." He mentioned as she mentally pleaded for him to remove the collar so she could burn him in to a crispy crisp.

"I don't have to respond to every single one of your questions, now do I?" Kirara rebuttals as she tries to locate a weakness in the current position that she was trap in.

Every time she thought she discovered a weak spot, he would quickly change it to a whole new location. Her fustration caused her to incite mentally slurred foul words directed at the white haired mutt that had her trapped within his arms.

"These Japanese Apricots smell wonderful with your scent." He softly whispers in her ear when he could strongly smell both scents meshing together.

His warm breath tickles one of her ear's sensitive areas that it causes her to accidentally bury her face into his chest out of the new sensation.

Her action promptly caught his attention when Kirara noticed what she did and instantly regretted showing one of her weakness and knew that Sesshomaru reveled in knowing that about her.

"So you're extremely sensitive around the ears." He teases her causing a look of panic to cross her face before she could feel him blow on that area again.

Sesshomaru hit the jackpot when he felt her squirm even further beneath him with her face deeply buried in his chest causing an unnoticed smile to appear on his face.

Kirara's heavy breathing brought him out of his excitement of his new discovery of Kirara's weak spot, "You're still fighting me till the very end, Kirara."

She had to catch her breath and before she could respond, she felt his lips brushed against her sensitive area causing her legs to rise until her knee gently bumped into his groin area before swiftly returning her foot back onto the ground.

He felt her body stiffen in his hold, he knew that she did not easily give up and remained on his guard the whole time, "Its time to go to bed."

'_Oh how I wish I could just burn him into a million pieces…' _Kirara thought when she felt gravity go against her, which was not a good thing for the situation that she was in, until she felt something soft on her back side.

She knew that this would ultimately be where she would end up whether she went quietly or was going to go down kicking the result would be the same.

'_It's like clipping a bird's wing so it won't leave the cage with foolish thoughts of escape.' _She thought to herself as there was only one thing left to do and that was to at least catch up on her sleep.

0000

Morning starts to roll around for those who were grateful for waking to another day while others hated the fact that a new day dawn on them.

Kirara groaned at the fact that the first thing she was going to see was none other than the white haired mutt, who she was to be married to in the time span of one more day.

Due to the closeness of their proximity, his scent registers as strong and loud to her. Kirara found it hard for her to breathe normally and it was even the reason why she had to continuously wake from her slumber.

"You know sooner or later you're going to have to open your eyes." She hears his voice signaling to her that he was still right across from her.

Sesshomaru observe Kirara, as she squint her closed eyes and furrowed her brows as if she was trying not to open her eyes after hearing his voice.

He also saw how her hair changed back to its blonde version the instant sunlight graced her head region and figured that her pupil eye color changed as well.

"Kirara," He said her name that caused the bell around her neck to ring, which meant that an order that she was going to have to obey would follow next.

"Open your eyes." He ordered her as she found some images appeared in her eyesight before he coming into view.

She noticed that Sesshomaru was completely clothed, which eased her suspicion of the mutt in front of her before she checked herself and saw that she was still clothed as well.

"I didn't try anything funny while you were sleeping." He quickly informs her when he notices that she was checking on their clothes.

Kirara still did not make direct eye contact with him but instead focus in on something pass his shoulder, "It wouldn't have matter whether I was a willing participate when you can clearly force me to do something against my will because of this collar."

'_Here we go again…' _he thought to himself before responding to her statement with his own.

"I won't be doing _that _until our honeymoon." He mentions, which causes her to make an attempt to roll out of the bed but was unsuccessful quickly forgetting that she was still in Sesshomaru's hold.

"_You _will be doing _that _but _I_ won't be _ther_e…' she corrects him while visibly rolling her eyes at the previous statement he made.

"Like you said, it wouldn't matter whether or not you are a willing participate, when I simply can use the collar?" He responded causing Kirara to wear a look of dread on her face.

'_What have I gotten myself into?' _she inwardly questions her future situation with Sesshomaru, the Lord of the West Kingdom.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: I apologize that I made you all wait for a long time for this update so without further ado here is the newest chapter to Kirara: A Neko Warrior.**

**1111 **

Kirara feels like a stray kitten begging for someone to accept ownership of her while she tails behind Sesshomaru, who leads her in a certain direction

'_At least I can practice walking in these stupid getas…' _she thinks as she focuses on her stride in the wooden shoes.

"Once we're done with breakfast we are due for wedding rehearsal." Sesshomaru discloses to her which breaks her concentration on her steps.

'_That's right! I only have another day before I have to consent to this marriage.' _She reminds herself after she realizes how short her timeline was.

Sesshomaru peers over his shoulder to check if she had ran away from him but instead he was wrong.

She intensively stares at her feet as she successfully treads forward in the _getas_, which he had provided for her.

"So you plan on ignoring me by focusing on your next step?" he questions before she raises her head upward to look at him.

"It should be quite obvious that every time you open that mouth of yours, I mentally block you out so I won't have to hear any of your nonsense?" Kirara retorts with a grave expression on her face.

"Maybe you should listen to me this time again…once we're finished with breakfast we are having wedding rehearsal." Sesshomaru repeats his previous statement before he faces away her.

Kirara returns her sights to her shoes before she slips out of the_ getas_, bends over to pick them up and carries them in her hands.

"It's not like I have any choice in the matter because of what's around my neck." She quickly counters as she quietly enjoys the feel of her bare feet against the surface of the floor.

'_So she's finally accepted her role.' _he assumes however in the back of his mind he knew that that thought was dead wrong.

'_I wonder did those idiots wake up this morning.' _She ponders to herself once she realizes that the answer to her question would arrive soon.

1111

Makoto, Toshu, Kenichi, and the others wait for their lady to arrive within the dining hall for breakfast.

What they were not informed of was that Sesshomaru's guards would be dining alongside them as well.

There was a brief awkward silence exchanged between the two groups since they were not quite familiar with each other's presence. Yet, that feeling would soon subside once the presences of their respective leaders enter their line of vision.

'_What's Lady Kirara doing with her shoes off?' _Makoto inwardly wonders to himself after he quirks an eyebrow when he spots their leader with her shoes in one of her hands.

'_Did she try and run away?' _Toshu presumes as he watches her tuck the _getas_ underneath her arm.

'She looks as if she didn't get enough sleep.' Kenichi considers after he observes Kirara's tired facial expressions.

"Good morning, I miss you guys so much!" Kirara exclaims from her current position while she waves to them with a wide smile.

The three prime member thoughts hold genuine concern for their leader and her current appearance and behavior.

Kirara quickly interchanges personal greetings with each one of her men before she ventures to her assign seat.

"So what have you all been doing since yesterday?" she curiously poses to her men after she spins away from Sesshomaru.

"Just getting use to this castle…hopefully if Lord Sesshomaru permits us to participate in our regular training session so we can remain in top shape." Makoto replies to Lady Kirara's question.

Kirara opens her mouth to speak but instead of her voice she hears Sesshomaru respond for her, "

"Due to the important even in the next couple of days coming up, I cannot permit her to participate."

Her men knew she did not appreciate Sesshomaru's answer to that particular question, which prompts her to quickly whirl around to face him.

"You mean the days as in today and tomorrow? Afterwards, I'm openly available for training." Kirara voices her opinion.

Sesshomaru sits there as if her response was something normal for him. "Makoto, she will not be available for the rest of the week. The following week you can start then."

Kirara displays an expression of disappointment mixed with shock that Sesshomaru would have the nerve to rearrange her schedule as if he ran her day-to-day actions. "Excuse me, but I need to head to the little girl's room."

Without waiting for a reaction or response from anyone Kirara made her escape outside of the dining hall.

'_I can use this time to clear my head. I wonder where Rin is?' _she ponders to herself as she glances left and right before she follows Rin's distinctive scent.

Meanwhile back inside of the dining hall…

The servants delivered the breakfast items as Kirara's men wondered what could possibly be going on in his mind about marrying their fierce leader.

Sesshomaru however did not seem faze by the fact that Kirara nearly bolted out of the dining room a few minutes ago.

"My lord," The one who sat closes to his left hand side speaks up, "Shall we go retrieve her?"

He did not immediately respond to the question instead he continues to consume his breakfast meal.

"It doesn't matter how far she runs or where she hides. She already knows the set conditions for her situation. Besides it's a test of her character…I want to see if she really is about it." He calmly comments.

'_He gave her a test of character?' _Everyone except Sesshomaru inwardly questions after they listen to Sesshomaru's answer.

'_I'm curious to see will she live up to my expectations of her.' _He wonders as he continues to dine on his plate and did not pause to talk.

1111

Kirara roams around the small portion of the castle since she needed time to think about certain things.

'_He must think that I'm utterly clueless.' _She presumes as a small smile appears on her face as she takes a seat on the base of a column.

'_I instantly knew that once he permitted me to leave from his sights that he had to have an ulterior motive behind it.' _Kirara deduces as she shakes her head at the inu-youkai's plans for her.

She leans back against the pillar while she exhales a sigh to ease her tense muscles. Oh how she wanted to just sprint through the jungle to feel the dirt beneath her feet, the wind in her hair, and the sun rays on her face once again.

Now she would no longer be able to get a kick out of those simple things that she took for granted. Instead now all she had to look forward to was waking up each and every morning in disappointment for the rest of her life.

'_I really need to punch something right now.' _She inwardly asserts when her nose picks up on someone's scent nearby.

"Excuse me, my lady but are you okay?" a masculine voice inquires when she peers up at the man from the stables.

Kirara wipes her eyes with one of her hands when she feels some tears about to fall from her eyes before she glances up at the man again. "Your name is Yamato right?"

"Ah, I'm glad that you remember my name!" he expresses to her with a wide smile on his tan face.

Kirara simply nods her head up and down when she conveys her frustration, "No, I'm not alright! I'm being forced to marry someone who I am not in love with whatsoever! I feel as if he's caging me inside of a cage that I don't want to be in! How can I go through with this with my pride intact and my future on the line?"

"So our daiyoukai has chosen you as his mate without your consent?" Yamato asks as he inquires about her situation.

Kirara peeks up with her eyes wide that the man understands her situation when she proclaims, "Yes! I absolutely hate him for that! I will never forgive him for it!"

Yamato pats his hands on both of her shoulders and reasons with her, "I can still see the fire in your eyes milady. Don't ever show him the satisfaction that he has dampened your flames. When he requests you to do one thing follow your heart so you can keep peace within yourself."

Yamato's words seem to hit home because she finds herself enclose the older man within her arms while she thanks him, "Thank you so very much. I appreciate your words of wisdom during my time of distress."

"This will be our little secret, okay? I will escort you back to the dining hall." he proposes to her while he winks at her.

Kirara nods her head to show that she comprehends the gesture before she responds with "Sure…I can do that!"

"Good then. Let no tear fall from your face when you're with him, my lady." Yamato reassures her of her beliefs.

'_I can't believe that I had a moment of weakness!' _she thinks in disbelief before she resolves to herself, _'Not ever again will I…'_

1111

Makoto, Kenichi, Toshu and the others begin to feel on edge even though they knew that Sesshomaru had a plan for Lady Kirara. It was only natural for them to feel worried about her.

"I'm going to get Lady Kirara." Makoto declares before the dining room doors open to reveal Kirara with a much older man.

'_So she did come back…interesting.' _Sesshomaru's guards spectate to themselves on the other hand Kirara's men reckons, _'Way to prove him wrong Lady Kirara!' _

Kirara faces the salt and pepper haired man with a smile before she bows at the waist to thank him, "Thank you Yamato-san, for showing me the way back."

"Breakfast is over." Sesshomaru abruptly announces to the group once he polishes off his plate.

The rest of the group knew that Sesshomaru's word was final and that everyone had no other choice but to comply with it.

"Makoto, Toshu, Kenichi, Saito, Lee, Aito, Isshi, and Hiro, I need to speak with you all for a few minutes."

The men realize from their leader's tone that if they did not capitalize on their opportunity then Sesshomaru would have forbid any unnecessary and unexpected meetings.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Akio speaks up once his personal guards materialize in front of him as they take a knee in front of their lord.

"Permit us to conduct surveillance on Lady Kirara and her men."

"Surveillance will not be needed at this certain point. Continue with your individual patrols of your area. Akio, I need for you to stay." Sesshomaru issues out orders to his guards as everyone except Akio left his sights.

"My lord," "There's an invitation that I would like to extend to a group of people that only you can successfully deliver within the allotted time."

A maid delivers a handful of invitations to Akio right before Lord Sesshomaru exits the dining hall.

'_That should at least keep him busy for some hours.' _He mentally judges before he advances out in the hallway only to see Kirara break away from her huddle of men.

"Alright, I'm counting on you guys!" Kirara shouts while her men travel down the hallway to the guest wing.

Kirara doubles back only to spot Sesshomaru in the hallway along with her, which prompts her to pose, "Is there a problem?"

"Where are your shoes?" he inquires after he peers at her feet to see that she still did not have the _getas_ on.

"I don't feel like wearing those uncomfortable shoes! Besides it's not like _you_ are wearing them yourself." She fires back while she folds her arms across her chest.

'_I see she's still defiant as always.' _He muses to himself after he observes her reaction to his question.

"Kirara," Sesshomaru addresses her by her name as the bell around her neck rings, "Follow me."

She simply rolls her eyes as she feels her feet step one foot in front of the other while she merely glares at the back of the daiyoukai.

"Yamato stop by the tailor and see if there are any straw _zoris_ for her." Sesshomaru orders Yamato, who bows at the waist before he heads over to the tailor.

"Did you just do something nice for me?" she wonders out loud as it was suppose to be an inward thought.

"I don't want you to walk around my castle as if you are some animal with no shoes on." Sesshomaru explains the reason why he sent Yamato to pick up a pair of _zoris_ for her.

'_Yeah, yeah, yeah, you just don't want to admit it.' _She mulls over before she mentally busies until they arrived at their destination.

'_Oh no…' _she regards once she saw her worse nightmare in front of her very own eyes.

1111

Makoto and the others venture to the guest wing of the castle when Miranda materializes in front of them.

"Lord Sesshomaru requests for you to participate in the wedding rehearsals." Miranda relays the Lord's message on to the group of men.

"Why can't we just have a moment to relax?" Saito inquires toward Makoto after they were stop by Miranda.

'_They're already having wedding rehearsals?'_ he ponders to himself after he listens to the news.

"If it's for Lady Kiara's sake then I am sure we can sacrifice for her. Besides, it seems as if we have no other choice but to attend." Makoto speaks for the group.

"Follow me then…" Miranda instructs them before she whirls around and leads the group down the back portion of the foyer.

'_I just hope Lady Kirara can handle this…' _Makoto contemplates as he develops an ominous feeling about the whole wedding thing.


	24. Chapter 24

Kirara scopes out her current surroundings and spots on her right two rows of three white wooden chairs while there were three rows of four chairs on the left hand side.

The aisle was probably wide enough in length for two or three people to walk down at the same time.

'_Wait…what's that in the middle?' _she wonders to herself as she stares in front of her to see exactly what it was.

At the end of the aisle, she notices a small platform with a step built in the middle of the platform with a Shinto shrine atop of the platform.

'_He has his own Shinto shrine…just another sign of his wealth.' _Kirara inwardly thought to herself as the sight in front of her causes her stomach to churn from sickness.

Kirara watches two female servants draw near them with what appears to be measuring tape and a clipboard in one of their hands.

"These ladies will take your measurements." Sesshomaru issues out an order as Kirara finds herself being measure by the women.

As the two women complete their assigned job, Yamato appears in the group with straw zoris in his hands and passes them on to a barefoot Kirara.

"All done." The woman with the clipboard tells the woman, who measures Kirara as they quickly take their leave from the couple.

Kirara then slips her feet out of the getas and in the sandals that Yamato went to retrieve for her.

"Ah" She sighs after she discovers that both of the sandals fit her feet perfectly, "...you can get rid of those horrible getas."

"Thank you Yamato." Kirara thanks the servant, who merely bows at the hip before he steps away from the pair.

"It looks like we won't have a lot of people here, good." She mutters more to herself than toward Sesshomaru.

"So…" Kirara speaks up after she faces him. "Since I'm already here unwillingly care to explain how this works?"

"Jaken…" he calls for the toad-imp, who quickly materalizes at his side that causes Kirara to roll her eyes at his devoted actions.

"Yes my lord." He responses in his normal tone whenever he was personally summoned by Lord Sesshomaru.

"Give Kirara a run down on how this works. You should be done before her men arrive here." Sesshomaru orders Jaken, who displays a peeve expression on his face after he hears the order.

"Yes my lord." he confirms his willing participation to the command.

"It seems as if one who isn't familiar with civilized traditional customs wouldn't have the slightest clue as to how Shinto marriages are carried out." Jaken cooly states as Kirara merely shoots him a look.

"At least I'm not a poor excuse of a demon!" She counters, which causes Jaken's facial features to contort to show disdain for the woman that stands in front of him.

"A Shinto priest will conduct the ceremony then there's a musical accompaniment of flutes that will perform "ga ga ku"."

"As you _should_ know marriage is not just the union of a man and a woman but blending the two families together. So before exchanging vows, you will stand on the appropriate side with your family standing as well and facing toward each other. The bride and groom do not look each other when they recite the oath to be obedient and faithful to one another."

"After that you will sit the nakoudo down in the seats, then you will drink sake while Lord Sesshomaru reads the words of commitment, and then the priest will read the wedding contract."

"Following that is the "sansankudd", where Lord Sesshomaru sips three times from a small, medium, and large cup. You will follow the actions once he is done with the same cup. This symbolizes that the marriage vows have been sealed."

"The wedding ends with you two giving offerings, such as three small twigs of sakaki and then onward to the reception."

"Do you understand that?" Jaken inquires after he explains the entire flow of the wedding.

Kirara wears a dazed expression on her face before she supplies Jaken with a reply. "I heard you!"

Her sights turn toward the seat while she mentally counts that there were a total of ten chairs on the side where Jaken instructs her to stand.

"Why are there ten seats on my side?" She poses to Sesshomaru as she watches two helpers include two more additional seats.

Before he could provide her with a response to her question, the sound and scent of her fellow men can be overheard from her left hand side.

"Lady Kirara," Makoto greets her once the group approaches Lord Sesshomaru, Jaken and Lady Kirara poise underneath the roof of the hallway.

Kirara's face shows apparent surprise when she probes, "Makoto? What are you all doing here?"

"Miranda stopped us on our way to our rooms and said that Lord Sesshomaru requested for us to participate in the wedding rehearsal."

She swiftly snaps her head towards Sesshomaru, who eyes were shut with no concern present on his face during their conversations.

Kirara simply exhales a deep sigh before she returns her sights onto what was in front of her. "Let's get this over with."

A quick smile stretches across Sesshomaru's face after he listens to Kirara's submissive tone once she confirms her participation.

The wedding rehearsal lasted for a half of hour with Jaken directing where Makoto, Toshu, Kenichi and the others where they would be seated.

'_Why are those first five chairs empty?' _Makoto wonders to himself while he was being instructed to head to the second row, the first seat on the left hand side.

Kirara wonders the exact same thing as Makoto was since it did not sit right with her. '_As you should know marriage is not the union of a man and a woman but blending the two families together.'_

'_Family? I haven't used that word in some years…' _she mulls over as she tries to conceal the fact that she was completely distracted instead of intently focused on what was going on.

"Alright, we have reached the conclusion of the ceremony with Lord Sesshomaru and Kirara _happy married_. You two will then be lead by Yamato to the reception and from there you have the rest of the night." Jaken announces to the others.

She releases another deep sigh once they wraps up with the last bit of rehearsal before she ambles off of the platform.

"Makoto, I need to speak with you." Kirara utters once she nears her men, who remains in their seats.

Makoto simply nods his head in agreement before he rises to his feet and tails behind Kirara.

'_What is she up to now?' _Sesshomaru inwardly ponders to himself after he stealthily peers over his shoulder at Kirara and Makoto.

"Did you say anything about _them_ around him?" Kirara softly inquires while she studies Makoto's facial expression

"Never. You swore me to absolute secrecy." Makoto quickly defends after he recalls that he never mention anything about _them_ around Sesshomaru.

Kirara eases back into her stance before she discloses, "Something's not sitting right about those five chairs in the front of you."

"But my lady," Makoto voice snares Kirara's attention, "What if _they _do show up? What would you do then?"

Kirara shrugs her shoulders up and down. "Honestly I don't know…I mean it's just too much for me now just imagine if _they_ were to come."

"I'm sure you will handle them effectively." Makoto offers his leader a reassuring statement.

'_Still…what does Sesshomaru have up his sleeve?' _she inwardly weighs her question before she wonders what those people were doing.

1111

Akio swiftly dashes through the green foliage of the forest that surrounds him while he uses his keen sense of smell as a guide to his designated destination.

'_Good._ _I'm almost there…' _he inwardly assumes before he leaps from one tree branch to another branch before he lands on the surface of the earth once a large gate catches his attention.

'_This has to be it…' _Akio concludes to himself after he draws near the kingdom's massive gate.

"State your name and business." A voice from his left hand side announces once he crosses the gate's threshold.

"Lady Kirara has sent me here to deliver a message on her behalf. She insist that I directly hand this to the Lord and the Lady of this land." Akio calmly states his purpose of his business.

There were some whispers amongst what appears to be two people inside of a wooden desk before the same voice speaks up, "I will escort you to the main building."

'_That was pretty easy…' _Akio conceives to himself once his guide approaches him and advances toward the core of the village.

'_There are hardly any youkai here but there's this strong scent coming from in front of him.' _He thought to himself as he continues to follow close behind the man in front of him.

As the guide and Akio draws closer to the center of the kingdom, he notices a rather palatial castle that might he dare say was far larger than his home back in the West Kingdom.

_'Is this really where that neko-youkai was born?' _he questions in disbelief while he enters inside what he assumes was the front or the main entrance used by guests due to the meticulous decoration of the hall.

"Once you entered inside please remove your shoes and leave them at the entrance." A maid politely instructs him while he secertly admires the sights around him.

'_I wonder why did Lord Sesshomaru asked me to do this task?' _Akio mentally contemplates as the guide continues to lead him toward strong scents of various neko-youkai.

"Wait right here." the guide orders after the pair halts in front of a shoji door until the guide disappears behind the door.

"Sir, a messenger has just arrived with a message from your daughter." Akio overhears the guide inform whoever was in the room.

"Send them in." a rich deep masculine voice declares.

He watches the shoji door slides to the right and receives a nod from the guide as a signal for him to enter.

Akio walks inside of the room where an elderly neko-youkai couple sits in the direct front of where he currently stands.

There were also two males and a female position in the middle while on the left there was a male and an empty pillow seat.

"Where is this message that my daughter has sent me?" the elderly man speaks up and captures Akio's attention.

"I'm surprise that she is still alive." He listens to the male on the side of the man, who sits closest to the man, speaks.

"Well if mom and dad didn't give her so much free reign she wouldn't have ran off." The female in the middle of the males voices with her arms tuck underneath her chest.

"You two shouldn't talk bad about Kirara when she isn't here." The male on the far end of the two claims while he waves his hands downward in order to keep calm and peaceful.

A fist slams down on the tatami floor as it quiets the other three and catches everyone attention. "Who cares what you three thinks? It's not like you are living her life!"

"Silence. You four have been acting quite rudely lately." The older man proclaims as it ceases his children squabbling.

"The message please?" his wife asks for the message in a gentle tone.

Akio slowly strolls pass the siblings before he hands over the invitation that Lord Sesshomaru extends out to them.

"The fact that you're still here means that you will need a immediate response." The one who was closest to the older man claims.

"Oh my...would you look at that." Their mother's voice verbalizes after she read over the contents of the invitation.

"What is it mom?" the only female besides the older lady inquires to her mother.

"It seems as if we have been invited to you sister's _wedding_." Their mother discloses while Akio observes for their individual responses.

"I wonder who in their right mind would marry such an undomesticated woman." The male states while he peers at his brother across the room.

"I'm so jealous! I thought I would at least be married before she was." The woman once again voices as a visible pout was apparent on her face while she leans forward on both of her hands.

"That's good for her!" the one next to here says with a sigh of relief before he adjusts his glasses on his face.

"Oh yeah! Kirara's getting married!" the boy across the three bellows while he displays his enthusiasm for the announcement.

Akio sweatdrops at the siblings' extremely mixed reaction to the news. _'So this is where Lady Kirara grew up. I see why she acts the way she does.'' _

"So when is the wedding date, dear?" the wife asks her husband since her husband was now in possession of her husband.

"It says that it is tomorrow." Her husband broadcasts the date to everyone else.

"I should have known she doesn't like us. We probably missed her yui-on! She's such a selfish girl that Kirara!" the girl expresses her disappointment at her younger sister's actions.

"As long as we have been invited to the wedding that's all that matters, right?" the male with the glasses suggests to his sister.

"Right! Trust and believe me when I say we're always on our toes because Kirara loves doing things at the very last minute." The male across from the three speaks up.

'_So she's marrying this Sesshomaru fellow, huh? Why does his name sound familiar to me?' _he inwardly thought to himself.

The father loudly clears his throat as every acknowledges it as a gesture to cease chatter in the room as they patiently wait for the answer that they were going to receive.

"Tell her…"


	25. Chapter 25

Sesshomaru travels over to Kirara, who stands alongside one of her subordinates slightly curious as to the content of the pair's conversation.

"I don't know. I will handle it then." He overhears Kirara tells to the man name Makoto before she peers over at him.

"Is there something wrong?" She directs her question to him after they quickly concludes their conversation.

"You have the afternoon and the early part of the evening to yourself. You will stay within the castle grounds." He simply states while he stares her in the face.

'_Something is weird…' _Kirara inwardly notes to herself at Sesshomaru's apparent willingness to let her have some free time to herself with no strict requirements.

Kirara continues to studies Sesshomaru's face to make sure that he was not telling her a fib. _'He is dead serious.' _

She watches Sesshoamru's back retreat down the corridor and makes his way away from her current standing position.

Makoto signals for the others to draw near where they stand at the moment and voices, "My lady,"

Kirara faces Makoto once again only to realize that the others were now with him. "The reason why Lord Sesshomaru gave you the rest of the afternoon and some of the evening off to yourself is because this is the last night that you are considered a _single_ woman."

They witness their leader eyes grow wide after she listens to what Makoto just told her. "Surely you couldn't have forgot about that."

"I mean…its just I would…normally have girls. Since it's a bachelorette party…" Kirara pause in between her sentences, as if to word it correctly.

Makoto places his right hand on Kirara's left shoulder before speaking up, "We know it is not the way you want to spend your last day as a single woman but we are all you have here. Besides, tradition only seems to flow in the favor of Lord Sesshomaru."

'_Makoto actually makes sense.' _She thought while nodding her head to show she inwardly agrees with her thoughts and Makoto's plan.

"After all my lady, we want you to have a good time! So are you ready to go?" Toshu inquires while looking at Kirara.

She could not help but to laugh at the question. "What would I do without you all?"

"Probably die of complete boredom…" Kenichi slips in, which causes the group to burst out in to laughter at his joke.

When they advance forward Kirara halts in the middle of her stride, "Before we go...there's someone else that is coming with us."

The men pauses to look at Kirara before Makoto speaks up again, "It's no problem."

1111

Sesshomaru casually strolls through the corridors of his castle with his eyes close and his breathing even when a familiar scent hits his nose.

"What was the response that you receive?" he inquires to the presence that occupies him in the corridor.

"Yes." The voice simply replies while in a kneeling position.

"Is there anything else that I may need to know?" Sesshomaru inquires to the presence in front of him.

"There are total of six of them. Both parents are alive with five children in total, with three of them being males and one of them being a female. They live midway between the central and southern kingdom." The voice relays the information that they were able to acquire from their trip.

_'So she has are three brothers and one sister…'_ Sesshomaru inwardly thinks to himself after hearing the report.

"You have served me well Akio." Sesshomaru thanks Akio before he strides past him.

_'I hope Lord Sesshomaru know what he's getting into with Lady Kirara.' _Akio contemplates to himself after he serves as a first hand witness at how Kirara's family acts.

'_To think that she had family…I wonder why she doesn't talk about them?' _Sesshomaru inwardly contemplates to himself before rounding a corner.

1111

"Lady Kirara," Kenichi's voice was heard among the group as they stroll through the West Kingdom village while they earn strange expressions from the residents.

"Yes, what is it?" She inquires while she peers over her right shoulder to look at Kenichi.

"Did you really have to wear that cloak out here?" Kenichi asks as he positions his intertwine hands behind his head with his eyes cut towards his leader.

Kirara fires daggers toward Kenichi, who shrieks behind Makoto which earns laughter from the little girl.

"I want us to enjoy a simple night out without being hounded. If I expose this kimono then we will have everyone following us every where we go!" Kirara explains with her eyes close as she continues to walk.

"Onee-chan, does have a point. Lord Sesshomaru's crest is known by everyone here!" Rin's child voice was heard as she too was hidden within a cloak.

"So imouto, do you know any good eating places that serve sake?" Kirara turns her focus to Rin, who currently holds her hand.

"Lady Kirara, you didn't have to put it so bluntly towards Lady Rin." Toshu speaks up after he listens to the question.

"I really don't mind answering…it should be one coming up." Rin responds to both Kirara's question and Toshu's statement.

Kirara faces Toshu before she sticks her tongue out towards the male, who laughs at how child-like their leader act whenever she was around Rin.

"There it is!" Rin declares while she points to a place with a sign that displays restaurant and bar.

Kirara turns to face Rin before she clasps her tiny hands inside of hers and exclaims, "This is perfect!"

A wide happy grin stretches across the little girl's face after she receives credit for her work.

Makoto holds the door open for the two ladies while he leaves the door open for the other guys to enter.

"Let's take those seats over there!" Kirara points to a small cluster of seats that could hold their entire party.

Kirara and Rin share a booth with one another while Makoto, Lee, Aito and Isshi takes one booth while Toshu, Kenichi, Saito and Hiro share a booth with one another.

"Waiter, can I get a bottle of sake for each one of the tables and milk?" Kirara shouts loud enough for the bartender to hear her request.

"Three bottles of sake and milk coming up!" the bartender says loud enough for Kirara, Rin and her gang to hear his response.

"Onee-chan," Kirara hears Rin call for her attention, "Yes, what is it imouto?"

"I know you aren't happy about marrying Lord Sesshomaru but are you excited for the wedding?" Rin asks with the same smile on her face.

_'No.'_ "I just never had time to think about marriage let alone settling down with just one person." Kirara answers.

"...but onee-chan isn't it every girl's dream to have a fairytale wedding where her knight in shining armor sweeps her off of her feet and they live happily ever after." Rin questions.

'_Sesshomaru as my knight in shining armor…yeah right, I rather die a lonesome death than be married to him.' _

'_She is still a little child.' _She reminds herself before she closes her eyes. "You know what imouto…you're right! That is every girls' dream!"

Her men knew that Kirara had lied but it was for a good cause. _'Lady Kirara didn't want to destroy Lady Rin's fantasy about marriage.'_

By then the sake and milk makes its way to their table along with sake cups and menus. Once they place their orders in and pour sake and milk into their sake cups Makoto suggests a toast.

"To our lovely Lady Kirara and her last night as a single unmarried woman." Makoto announces before the sound of saucers click against one another was heard.

They down their drinks before they pour another cup of sake and milk as conversation continue to flow between Kirara and Rin.

"Onee-chan…why don't you ever talk about your siblings?" Rin wonders before she brings the rim of her saucer to her lips to drink.

"What would you like to know about them?" Kirara inquires as she feels the alcohol looses up her muscles and relaxes her nerves.

Rin thought about the question that she would like to ask about Kirara's siblings. "What about their names?"

"There's Naoki, Ayume, Jiro and Isamu, three brothers and one sister." She answers Rin's question.

Rin looks as if she tries to commit those names to her memory. "So why don't you talk about them?"

Kirara pauses in her next sip to think about the answer to Rin's question. "How about I tell you a story that will probably answer every single last question that you have to ask me?"

"Oh, I like listening to stories." Rin exclaims before she rests her saucer on the surface of the table.

"When I was growing up, I seemed to have acquired numerous suitors, who had vigorously tried to obtain my hand in marriage. My parents were adamant about one particular suitor, who left their fan for me in the box. It was at that moment that they had decided that a mi-ai was necessary.

"I never really had feelings for the other party so being force to marry someone I was not in love with me caused me to rebel."

"I remember my youngest brothers, Isamu, told my parents that he had chosen to become a demon slayer and that he wanted me to join him in his travels. Of course my parents didn't want their princess out there in the big world all on her own fighting youkai twice her size and risking her life on a everyday basis. So I took my most trusted servant along with me and I ran."

"And now I am here once again in the same situation except this time I can't run away." Kirara concluded the rest of her story once their food had arrived.

Rin remains quiet the rest of the dinner but shows that she still had fun whenever she flashed a smile and giggled at jokes that Kirara told her.

Kirara feels a good buzz, since it has been a while since she had a good drink surrounded with friends and newfound family relations

'_I wish I could stay in this moment forever.' _She considers to herself before she wraps up her dinner and downs the rest of the sake bottle.

"Alright, Lady Kirara, it's time we call it a night." Makoto expressed in a stern tone, which had snapped Kirara out of her daze.

"Sure, besides I want to show Rin the stars on our way back." Kirara claims while she teeters a little in order to slide out of the booth.

She extends her hand over to Rin, who graciously takes it and squeezes it with her small hand. _'Do they forgive me for what I have done?'_

"Onee-chan…" Rin calls for Kirara's attention, which she gives it with a turn of her head to face her.

"Thank you for tonight. I haven't had this much fun since I got here."

A wide smile and a warm feeling course through her heart as she notices the innocent smile that was on Rin's face.

'_Maybe…just maybe…Rin is my source of happiness.'_

1111

Sesshomaru could tell the Kirara disobey his orders and left the castle's grounds yet he figure that she was going to disobey his orders anyway.

Matter of fact, he had just finished up the last of what needed to be done for tomorrow while she was gone.

What he did not expect was the fact that Kirara took Rin along with her on her way out of the castle.

The instant he could smell the various scents along with Rin and Kirara, he knew then that they had arrived back onto the castle grounds later issuer the required time.

Not only that but the aroma of sake was strong among the group with a faint smell of milk from Rin, which means that they enjoyed a couple of drinks.

He merely rubs his temples as the smell of sake was starting to become overbearing for his taste before saying, "Kirara."

The group ambles in the foyer of the castle amidst in laughter before the sound of a bell ensnares their attention.

"Unfortunately, we will have to call it a night since it seems as if my _fiancée _is calling me. However, I did appreciate the gesture for a nice dinner with you all so I thank you." Kirara broadcasts to the group while she bows at the waist.

The move signals to her men that she was internally grateful for them sticking it out with her. She bites back the tears that starts to bream behind her close eyelids.

"The pleasure is all ours my lady." The men decrees in unison while they drop to a knee in front of Kirara.

Rin senses that the love for one another was not just of a master and servant but one of a deep friendship that could be seen as family.

A smile graces her face while she thought, _'This is a family. This is a real family.' _


	26. Chapter 26

Somehow sleep manages to elude Kirara since her thoughts consist about the the time she had to "report" to Lord Sesshomaru.

_'Maybe its because I drank a lot more than usual.'_ She inwardly considers when she thrusts open the enormous dungeon doors that leads to Sesshomaru's bedroom.

Although Kirara felt intense anger coupled upset at her unprecedented future, the large amount of sake she consumed allowed her body to rest and relax her nerves.

"I knew that if I were to give you an order you would have only defied them because of your pride." His voice registers in her thoughts when he addresses her.

Kirara blinks twice after she overhears what Sesshomaru just says to her when she questions,"Are you lecturing me?"

Sesshomaru maintains a stern gaze in Kirara's direction, who merely ignores the expression present on her so called fiancée flashes her.

"Isn't that obvious?" he firmly asserted as he slowly raised up from his seated position and on to his feet.

Kirara desperately attempts to maintain her joyous mood yet whenever she was around Sesshomaru it would constantly flees when he tries to converse with her.

"I really don't care what you say, do or think Sesshomaru." She starts before she adds, "If it wasn't for this hideous collar you forced on me...we wouldn't have to have this conversation.

"Tomorrow is going to be a long day so get some sleep and be ready to get up early." Sesshomaru counters Kirara's outburst with a set of instructions that she should follow.

A "whatever" emits from Kirara as she rotates away from him and strolls toward the balcony in order to get some fresh air.

_'My head is killing me.' _she thinks to herself as her temples start to throb when she runs her fingers through her hair only to remember that the servants style her hair in a bun at the request of Lord Sesshomaru.

Kirara gently tugs until she snaps the tie that firmly holds her hair in place when she feels relief from the tightness of the hairstyle.

"That feels better…" she mumbles to herself before she decides to enjoy the scenery of what was to be her new home.

Her mind continuously replayed the conversation had with Rin from last night since something that her imouto told her was burned in to her memory.

_"I know you aren't happy about marrying Lord Sesshomaru but are you excited for the wedding?" Rin asks with the same smile on her face._

Kirara contemplates the question over again before she ultimately concludes to hers, '_Hm…marriage makes me sick! Just like from that time…'_

_"Kirara!" a familiar feminine voice loudly calls out to a teenage version of Kirara, who happens to be on her way to one of her Lady lessons._

_'Not again…' __she inwardly groans as she tracks down the opposite side of the corridor where the voice originates from._

_Kirara draws one of the shoji doors to the side and crosses the threshold of the room with little too no difficulty._

_She comes face to face with her father, mother and two of her old siblings, Noaki and Ayume._

_"Yes mother, what is it?" Kirara politely inquires once she stands directly in front of her parents while she pauses alongside her brother and sister's side._

_Her mother twists her upper body to her right and reaches for something before she produces a cardboard box. She narrows her sights in on the contents of the box, which appears to be paper white fans with names inscribe on the labels._

_Kirara mentally constructed a fortified wall in order to remain blank after she registered the significance of the box and predicted what was about to come out next._

_"Noaki, Ayume, Jirou, Isamu and you are to carry out on your father's legacy. We, or rather your father and I, discussed that do to the sudden spike of interest in your box as of late...we decided that you would have a mi-ai." her mother proclaims as she beams a smile that exudes joy when she includes, __"We've already picked out the perfect young man for you!" _

_Kirara manages her composure as she masks her ire when she voices her concern, "An arranged marriage? And just under whose consent that I will accept this because it sure isn't mines."_

_"Of course, it's not on your terms but rather ours especially while you are under my roof. Your will is no longer even an option in this manner." She firmly proclaims when she slides the box in front of her._

_'If staying here means I don't have use of free will then I will just leave!' Kirara counters as she clenches her fists in order to curb her anger as well as her power._

_"You'll bring dishonor to our name Kirara if you yield from our parents' decision. The first thing that we were taught is to always honor family." Noaki reminds her what her father would tell them during their lessons when they were little._

_Ayume bursts out in a fit of laughter before she chimes in once she catches her breath, "You can't talk sense in to that oaf. She's just like Isamu, ruled by their heart instead of their head."_

_The subject of their conversation promptly ignores both of their siblings' comments about her since she mentally deems it to be unnecessary and swiftly exits from the room._

'It was then that Isamu rescued me with some serious heartfelt news.' she reflects as she briefly breaks away from her thoughts of the past.

_"I am declaring myself as a demon slayer. I'm doing it whether or not you will accept it. " Isamu boldly proclaims to his parents after he arrives lessen than an hour __back home from one of his many journeys._

_A moment of brief silence could be heard before their father's deep tenor voice slices through the silence with his response of, "That's fine."_

_Kirara eyes grow wide at the casualness her father and mother display towards her brother's demand yet rebuff her denial of a mi-ai__, 'So they'll allow Isamu to risk his life while I have to go through an arranged marriage?'_

_"I have another announcement to make…" Isamu quickly speaks up again after he gains his parents' agreement about his decision to become a demon slayer._

_Their father nods his head forward as a signal for him to continue as well as "Go on ahead..."_

_"I make a request that Kirara comes along with me." He states his motion to his parents before he defends his opinion,"I will supervise her the entire time and never will let her out of my sight."_

_'Thanks Isamu!' Kirara silently cheers on her brother, who vouches for her to accompany him on his travels and to train as a demon slayer._

_Another brief stint of quietness falls over the crowd as their parents' contemplates about their options before they finally makes a decision._

_"Motion denied." Her father firmly states. "Your sister has just accepted her mi-ai, which means that she is not permitted to leave the grounds even after she is married." _

_Kirara instantly feels her heart drop from her chest to inside of her stomach when she thinks, 'They really want to marry me off now...' _

_"Excuse this interruption, but I can not believe that Kirara has willingly accept a mi-ai. She's too passionate about her freedom as a neko-youkai! You were the one that told us to enjoy the intense flames that burn within our hearts, no?"_

_"Personally, I think Ayume should be the first to marry since she's the first girl born." Isamu issues valid points behind his belief that Kirara disagrees with the mi-ai._

_'Ah thank you, Isamu!' She happily thinks as a smile stretches across her face before it disappears once her father dismisses Ismau from his presence._

Kirara opens her eyes, which brings her back to reality as it prompts her to think, '_So much for being able to run away from my problems..._'

A wave of fatigue hits her body as it signals to her mind, _'Its time for bed' _as she crawls on to the bed and falls asleep.

1111

Morning rolls around rather early for Kirara as she lay on her back with her eyes wide open since the god awful scent of the daiyoukai that she came to detest disturbs her sleep.

She was sleeping as far away from the white haired youkai to the point that she was on the verge of falling off the edge of the bed if she were to make one false move.

Kirara senses that he was wide awake just as she was but opts to pretend that he was fast asleep so she rolls out of the bed since she could careless whether or not she woke up Sesshomaru.

The sun starts its daily routine as it starts to peak over the horizon, which displays that it was twilight.

_'Once the sun breaks past the horizon...my life ends.' _She concludes to herself as she stares at the sun out in front of her.

Sesshomaru stealthily climbs out of the bed once he feels her weight leave the surface of the bed. He notices that she cradles her head in her hands while she groans in disbelief at her situation.

He predicts that she wishes she could manipulate time then all of this would just be a nightmare she could easily wake up from.

Sesshomaru catches a glimpse of the sun rays stream from its owner as it graces the raven-haired woman's hair, which transform to its blonde state.

Kirara acutely listens to her surroundings when the bed shifts behind her as it signals to her that Sesshomaru had just left the bed.

"If there's anything that you need to do, do it. The wedding is in the afternoon." He informs Kirara as he stands next to her and watches the sunrise on the West Kingdom.

She can feel his presence was closer to her than she normally warrants it to be however she already knows if she was to verbally protest he would merely remain put.

Kirara continues to maintain her stare on the sunrise, sighs to herself, replies with, "I don't care" and wonders _'Kami-sama, I have to marry such a complicated man.'_

"Do you plan to stay in that form the entire time?" Sesshomaru probes as he cuts his gaze over in her to direction in order to witness her first response to his question.

She cocks one of her eyebrows upward, rotates her head in his direction, and questions him, "What are you talking about?"

"I know that's a human façade you have on." He voices to her as he directs his sights back on to the sunrise when he speaks to her.

"Your natural demonic form is what I am talking about." Sesshomaru explains the "form" he mention from earlier to Kirara, who was visibly confuse from his statement.

_'Who is he to say that I__ put up a façade?' _she inwardly gasps at the audacity of the white haired Lord of the West Kingdom thought process.

"First of all, its not a damn façade!" Kirara defends her pride as she leans in closer to Sesshomaru when she includes, "So I'm going to stay in this form whether you like it or not."

"Don't forget that if I want you in your natural form then I can have it done." He expresses to the now blonde haired woman as it sounds more like a promise rather than a threat.

Kirara slowly reaches one of her hands up to her neck as the object around her neck feels more like a magical shackle instead of a collar.

"Wouldn't it be better if you have people think that I am a human rather than another youkai?" Kirara suggests to him as she wonders what was his purpose for her to be in her demonic state.

Sesshomaru calmly explains to her, "It doesn't matter if you are a human, youkai, oni, ghost, daiyoukai or any other spiritual belief you will still have a target on your back."

She groans at the fact that Sesshomaru did have a point since she about to be link to an influential daiyoukai, a demon who people may admire and want to kill.

Kirara rolls her eyes because she could not believe what she was about to say to him, "Fine but my tails will be hidden underneath the kimono."

He was in a state of shock as he inwardly ponders, '_Did she just willingly accept?' _ He peers over at the woman who was soon to be his wife in a couple of hours.

She studies his expression on his face, which prompts her to retort "Don't get use to that either!" as she removes herself from against the rail of the balcony.

"I plan to consummate this marriage once the wedding is over." Sesshomaru suddenly declares when Kirara halts in the middle of her stride and turns toward him.

"So have you shared your flesh with someone else already?" he curiously inquires while a stern facial expression displays on her face once she faces the man.

_'He's only doing this to get under my skin. I got something for that.' _Kirara asserts to herself once his actions start to a line and make sense to her.

Kirara faces away from him as she feels intense heat surfaces on her face after she hears what Sesshomaru just tells her _'He's serious. What am I going to do?'_

"So you are going to force me to into doing something I don't want to do? Do you ever get tired of making my life a living hell?!" Kirara questions his intentions for her.

"We already walk in one anyway." His sarcastic response causes Kirara to fall in a spell of silence.

'_Its actually kind a of nice to have a decent conversation with him for once.' _ She inwardly notes to herself before she opts to return to her original position on the balcony and appreciates the sight before her.

The pair continues to serve as spectators of the sun as it ascend in it travels on the orbital path until it reaches the opposite side of the sky.

Kirara decides to at least grab something to eat since her stomach growls at her plus she needs to discuss certain issues privately with her men.

"Off to breakfast." She discusses her future location before she takes leave from Sesshomaru and the balcony.

1111

Rin was wide awake with a ton of energy to spare since today is a very special day in the West Kingdom. After all, today was the day of the wedding between Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Kirara.

A wide grin of excitement was evident on her face as she skips down a hallway toward the dining hall so she can grab some breakfast.

Rin spots one of Sesshomaru's trusted guards emerge from a random room when she identifies who it is out of the five.

"Akio!" She loudly calls out to the inu-youaki as he rotates his head in the direction of the sound of his name being use.

"Ah...Lady Rin, good morning." He politely greets the little girl with a small smile present on his face.

"Good morning! Are you excited about this afternoon?" She inquires about the raven haired male's opinion on the wedding.

Akio nods his head to show he agrees with her joy, "Its not every day that our lord take interest in the opposite sex let alone marriage."

"Weddings are just so beautiful!" Rin happily claims to Akio with huge eyes like saucers at the thought of weddings.

'_She isn't the one getting married but one could mistake her for the bride due to all of her excitement.' _Akio mentally assumes before he decides to continue the conversation with Lady Rin.

"Are you heading to the dining hall?" Akio asks about Rin's destination.

Rin swiftly nods her head in an up and down manner to show her answer in the form of a yes.

"Good we can go together…" he offers his hand for Rin to take.

"Let's go!" she exclaims after she accepts Akio's hand before they venture toward the dining hall.


	27. Chapter 27

"Kenichi, is everyone up?" Makoto inquisitively direct his question to one of his companions.

"Everyone is present and awake." Kenichi swiftly supply an answer to the question after he survey the others' facial expression.

"Listen up! As you all know, today is the day that Lady Kirara will tie the knot with Lord Sesshomaru." He start off once he secure their focus.

"I know we will all be on our best behavior during the wedding _and_ the reception. If there are any problems, don't hesitate to inform me. Understand?" Makoto abruptly wrap up his speech with a question.

The men causally exchange glances at each other to see if there were any other problems that need to be address at the moment.

"Did we even buy Lady Kirara a wedding a gift?" Toshu suddenly ask Makoto.

"We will get one this morning once breakfast is over with." He calmly reply to the question.

"I mean we don't want to show how unappreciative we are about this marriage. Now do we?" Toshu verbalize his opinion as the others agree with a nod of their heads.

"Well I'm hungry so let's go eat!" Kenichi loudly proclaim before they head off in the direction of the dining room.

1111

Kirara was thoroughly surprised at the fact that her and Sesshomaru were the first to arrive at the dining hall.

'_Where are they?' _Kirara irritably thought after she made her way over to her respective seat.

As she start to become comfortable, the familiar scent of her men, Sesshomaru's guard, and Rin capture her attention.

Kirara happily cast her gaze toward the door where sure enough everyone begin to file inside of the dining hall. There was an air of anticipation that seem to surround them.

"Good mornings" were exchanged among them as they settled in their respective seats before the food was being served.

Kirara lazily lean over to Makoto before she softly whisper, "I need to have a meeting with everyone after breakfast."

"My lady, we had planned to pick up your wedding gift today after breakfast. However, we can spare a couple of minutes if it's very important." He dutifully inform her about the group's plan.

"Oh...okay," Kirara slightly stammer a little before she reveal, "Just tell them that the training regiment will pick up once this whole wedding fiasco is over with."

Makoto physical response with a forward nod of his head.

Breakfast quickly flew by with hardly any conversation among themselves. Yet, the excitement was ever so present throughout the room.

The respective groups hastily dispersed from the hall, which left Kirara all alone with Sesshomaru once again.

_'Why do they insistent up leaving me with him!' _She frantically want to scream that at the top of her lungs.

All of a sudden an idea hits her when she state, "I'm going out for a walk."

Sesshomaru sharply turn his gaze down at Kirara to see that she was quite serious about her statement.

"You will be back at noon so you can start to get dress." He sternly countered after he turned and faced away from her.

Kirara quirk an eyebrow up as as she watch Sesshomaru's back retreat back down the hall.

_'Okay something is definitely up!'_ She inwardly assume when he veer around the corner.

_'This is the second time he has let me go out on my own.' _

_'I might as well leave before he change his mind.' _Kirara quickly assert before she search for her cloak to conceal her identity from the citizens of the West Kingdom.

1111

The morning air is fill with the aroma of food that practically entice customers to stop to pay for the delectable confections. She halt in the middle of her stride to study the sign that claim stores will be closed early and for the rest of the day due to their Lord's nuptials.

Her stomach tightly churn at the nerve that the store owners would have the gall to post such god awful signs in their storefront window. _'__I'm suppose to marry him today.'_

She promptly proceed to advance forward in the direction of what she assume was the gates of the West Kingdom.

_'I could leave now and send for Makoto and the others later.' _Kirara suddenly plan once the gates were within her sights.

"For someone to be getting married today, you sure don't appear to be a blushing bride." A familiar masculine voice break her out of her plan for escape.

She suddenly stop, slowly rotate toward the sound, and instantly spot Bankostu, who sport a small smile on his face while he stands alongside one of his brothers.

Kirara did not immediately respond to his question instead she steadily stares at the gates behind her.

"Why brother...I think we have a runaway bride!" Jakostu jokingly accuse, which cause his small red grin to expand to a wide toothy smile.

"It wouldn't even matter how far or fast I can run away from this place. I'll just keep coming back here." She hopelessly mumble to herself after she ignore Jakostu's accusation.

"So you really thought that if you were to run away from this place that _he _would not come after you?" Bankostu emphasize the pronoun "he" once he retort.

"I'm trap here!" She wearily proclaim while she drop to her knees with her face bury with the palms of her hands.

Bankostu and Jakostu simply glances at each other after they serve as witnesses in front of them Kirara's emotional breakdown.

"I think its just cold feet..." Jakostu coyly suggest to his brother with his hand over his red stained mouth.

The two men critically watch Kirara turn around and trudge toward their direction. "It seems as if she has finally return to normal."

"Remember that within in three days from now, I will come and collect that rematch that you owe me." Bankostu eagerly declare, which cause Jakostu to simply shuffle closer to him.

'_Out of all the things that he could have said to her, he thinks that will catch her attention…' _Jakostu irritably note while he mentally slap Bankostu for being so blunt.

Jakostu obediently spectate the blonde haired neko-youkai saunter away from them before she pause, peer over her shoulder, and declare, "That's fine by me."

He periodically glance back and forth at the two brief conversation with one another when he quietly wonder, _'What's this vibe between these two?'_

"Jakostu," Bankostu calls out to his brother as it snaps him out of his thoughts before he response with a "Huh?"

"Do you feel up to crashing a wedding this afternoon?" Bankostu abruptly inquiry while he watch her retreat from him before he eventually direct his gaze toward Sesshomaru's castle.

Jakostu merrily clasp his hands together in front of him and cheerfully exclaim, "Oh…how I simply adore weddings!"

A visible smirk stretched across Bankostu's face since he received the answer that he already knew Jakostu would have supplied him with.

"I wonder why she's so glum about getting married." Jakostu brightly pose to Bankostu, who merely divert his gaze back onto Kirara.

1111

Time absolutely seem to fly by when Kirara discover that she currently cross over the threshold of the door that led to the castle grounds of her future home.

"Are you Lady Kirara?" a young woman clad in a simple red colored kimono inquisitively wonder once Kirara lazily approach the entrance of the castle.

Kirara sharply stare at the woman with a peculiar expression present on her face. She instinctively sniff the strange woman's scent before she silently asset the woman as a non-threat and slightly drop her guard.

"I am she. May I ask who request me?" She politely ask her since she was very curious about the girl's purpose.

"Oh good," she dramatically sigh in relief before she calmly explain, "My name is Saiyuki. I will be your main attendant for your wedding. Lord Sesshomaru instructed me to hand this to you. He order for you to remember the words on the paper."

_'He even had her wait outside until I came back.' _Kirara thinks of the nerve of that white haired inu-youkai to have a defenseless girl wait for her return.

She leisurely extend her arm out until one of her hands connect with the flimsy parchment and nervously unbind the small ribbon that hold the flap in place.

Her eyes tediously scan the content of the paper while she critically glance up from the paper to Saiyuki in a cyclical fashion,

"Now if you will so kindly follow me, I will escort you to the dressing room." Saiyuki politely inform Kirara of their next destination.

Kirara physically provide an answer with a forward nod of her since she was intensely focus in on the paper's message.

She study the paper and concentrate her attention on Saiyuki as the content of the paper just completely hold her total and undivided focus.

"Enter here, please" Saiyuki warmly instruct after she draw the dressing room door wide enough Kirara to easily pass through.

"Onee-chan is that you?" A familiar child's voice call out to her once she pass through the entrance of the room.

"Imouto, what are you doing down here?" Kirara shockingly inquiry before she remember the occasion that the question had an obvious answer to it.

When the attendant lead her further inside of the room, she observe Rin pose on top of a raised circular platform clad in an extravagant kimono.

The kimono was a forest green hue with a earth brown obi sash that was adorn with golden swirls that cascade down from the waist to the front lap.

"You look absolutely adorable imouto! That color really suits you!" She vehemently shout after she remark at how Rin's cuteness make the kimono almost life like.

Rin brightly blush out of embarrassment for two reasons: one she receive a compliment for her older sister and two from a equally beautiful woman.

"Thank you, onee-chan," Rin happily thank her older sister before she slip her hand inside of one the two sleeves.

"I can't wait to see you in your wedding dress!" Rin anxiously gush as her excitement was apparent from her wide smile and uncontrollable giggles.

'_Me too Rin, me too,' _She inwardly wonder to herself as well.

Kirara instantly spot the elegant white kimono that remind her of powdery snow off in the corner and would occasionally cast her gaze over toward the wooden dress holder.

She release a deep sigh when the attendant guide her to an adjacent room, bathe her in a vanilla scent, dry her off, hand her the necessary undergarments and proceed to comb her hair.

Suddenly the parchment that Saiyuki had handed to her earlier started to weigh like a ton of rocks in one of her hand once she studied it again.

"Onee-chan your hair is going to be so pretty!" Rin eagerly claimed after she briefly entered inside of the other room since she was completely dressed.

A awkwardly weak smile materialize on her face before she ultimately permit the ladies around her to handle the preparations for her wedding attire as she quietly doze off to sleep.

"Now for the tortoise clips. Are you finish with the hood for the horns?" The woman behind Kirara speak, which wake her up from her brief nap.

She lazily peer downward only to see she was already drape in the simple yet elegant white kimono, which was intricately design with patterns that capture her attention.

Kirara overhear Rin gently gasp in shock before she rotate around to face the front as her eyes fall on the reflective surface of the mirror in front of her.

She was rendered totally speechless at the sight of her in the wedding kimono that fit rather nicely to the outline of her body.

_'I look like a porcelain doll.' _Kirara relate as she run the palm of her hands across the soft material in visible awe.

"Lady Kirara," Saiyuki's voice break Kirara sudden infatuation with the mirror when she kindly instruct her, "can you step down for me?"

"Oh I have to go and get my seat but onee-chan you look so beautiful!" Rin happily assert after she rapidly rise from her seat.

Kirara quickly blow a kiss in the child's direction right before she kindly express her thank with a "Thank you."

Saiyuki politely offer her hand for support, which Kirara graciously accept, as they venture out of the room.

1111

The sound of his step-brother caught Sesshomaru's attention since he already smelt his scent from a mile away, "So whose the unlucky woman who has to marry you?"

"Why are _you _so suddenly concern with who has to marry me?" Sesshomaru curiously wonder about his half sibling intention when he ask about the bride.

"I'm not concerned for _you_. I feel sorry for whoever the bride is." He boastfully correct his older half brother with a nod of his head.

Sesshomaru merely observe his stepbrother, Inuyasha, who had rudely arrive alongside with Arashi.

"Then don't participate." Sesshomaru simply counter before he feel one of the attendants tighten the hakama around his waist.

"I wish but your mom insisted that since I'm the only brother you got. I should at least join in." The male name Inuyasha promptly explain his presence at his wedding.

"Did I just hear my name?" a feminine voice was overheard.

The two males immediately cease their argument once the woman gracefully enter the room clad in a blue kimono with what appear to be Sakura trees with some petals along the surface of the ground.

"Shouldn't you be in your seat already?" Sesshomaru catechize his mother after he step down from the raised circular platform once the attendants wrap up with his outfit.

"I know what I'm doing." She curtly retort when she joyfully add, "I'm so happy you finally found someone to call your own. Kami-sama you don't know how long prayed for you."

"Lord Sesshomaru, the guests are starting to arrive. The priest is already here and in position." One of the wedding attendants, who was in charge of him announce.


	28. Chapter 28

Sesshomaru swiftly rotate his stare in the direction of where his mother was pose. She simply acknowledge that as a silent signal that it was time for her and Inuyasha to leave.

"Let's go and get you married, big brother." Inuyasha boastfully joke after he casually hook his arm around Sesshomaru's neck with a goofy smile present on his face.

"You could care less about who I marry." Sesshomaru sharply retort with Inuyasha's arm still around his neck.

"As long as you know that then it's fine by me." Inuyasha merely reply while he quickly remove his arm from around his stepbrother's neck and hastily step in front of him.

1111

Makoto, Toshu, Kenichi and the other members of Kirara's squad manage to locate their respective seats, which happen to be exclusively rope off with a sign designate for them.

Just like they had been instructed in practice yesterday, they had purposely left the first five seats in front of them vacant.

Kenichi instinctively scope out his surroundings, silently marvel at the volume of people that present for the wedding, and quietly whisper to Toshu, "It sure is a lot of people here compared to practice."

Toshu shake his head left and right at Kenichi's stupidity before he explain to his companion, "That's because Sesshomaru invited the entire West Kingdom to attend the wedding."

Makoto peered over to his left and recognized the pint-size brunette named, Rin, in the second row beside Jaken. Akio and Kosei was occupy the rest of the second row while Itsuki, Ryoju and Arashi sat on the third row.

His sights then land on an empty chair in the front when he wonder to himself, _'So why is there only one chair open in the first row in Sesshomaru's side?'_

A woman, who closely resemble a feminine version of Sesshomaru, suddenly materialize in his vision and graciously settle in the lone seat.

The group notice the strange woman and ponder, _'Could that be Sesshomaru's mom?' _

"Makoto...is that you?" a familiar feminine voice curiously question, which immediately cause him to divert his focus away from Rin and the mysterious woman to the source.

"Yeah, it's Makoto! Hey buddy!" a masculine voice loudly shout when Makoto suddenly feel a good hard smack against one of his shoulders.

"Lady Kimiko? Prince Isamu?" Makoto inquiry in a state of shock once he register the two strangers faces that stand in front of him as familiar.

Three more individuals draw near the two since they assume that the other two was able to locate their reserve seats.

"Prince Jiro and Noaki? Lord Raisen?" he identify the rest of the group by their respective names as they occupy the seats that were in front of him and his crew.

_'If this is everyone from Lady Kirara's immediate family here, where is Lady Ayume?' _Makato consider while Kirara's family rest in their seats with Lord Raiden being the closest to the aisle while his wife Lady Kimiko at his side along with their sons Prince Noaki, Jiro and Isamu.

Before Makoto could even search the premises for Princess Ayume, the melodic sounds of flutes capture his attention.

'_The wedding is starting!'_

1111

Inuyashu and Sesshomaru arrived at the end of aisle just in time to hear the sound of flutes being played, which signaled for Inuyasha that it was his time to walk down the aisle.

He briefly peer to his left and right while he amble down the aisle and inwardly ponder, _'Dude...how many people did that idiot invite anyway?'_

As Inuyasha arrive closer to the end of aisle, he could sense that majority of the people in attendance wonder who who he was and why he was in the wedding of their Lord Sesshomaru.

'_Good...they don't know who I am!' _he consider as a wave of relief wash over his body before he reach his designate spot to stand in.

_'I can't believe that that idiot managed not to mess it up.' _Sesshomaru thinks in disbelief as he stroll down the narrow aisle.

He instantly became aware of Kirara's scent when he was midway through his stroll down the aisle when he mentally consider, _'I see she didn't run like I thought she would.'_

1111

Kirara desperately attempt to control her frantic nerves yet whatever technique she would frequently use to remain calm result in complete and utter failure with each try.

Her stomach constantly execute turns, jumps, hurls, twirls, somersaults, front flips and back flips from her being so nervous.

The only thing she could clearly think about was the multiple ways she could murder Sesshomaru so she can gain her freedom once again.

"Alright here we are." Sayuki mention once she come to a halt in the middle of hallway, turn to face Kirara, and hand her a fan, along with a purse and something else in her hands.

A quiet "thank you" emerge from Kirara's mouth before an awfully familiar scent her nose as they near what she assume was the aisle.

A familiar young woman clad in an elegant yet simple kimono wait at the end of the hallway, which prompt Kirara to narrow her vision and question the figure, "Ayume, is that really you?"

The woman named Ayume turn her sights on to her sister, confirm it was her with "It's me imouto!" and approach her with two set of purple iris bouquets in her hands.

_'That means...' _Kirara suddenly feel her heart drop from her chest since the thought of abandoning the wedding start to sound even more enticing by the minute.

"We will talk later but you look absolute beautiful!" her older sister happily compliment her before she swiftly dash back to her original position when she hear her cue.

Kirara instantly felt as if someone unexpectedly punched her in the stomach when she started to feel winded when her normal respiratory action changed to short gasps for air.

Saiyuki dutifully swoop in to action as she quickly catch Kirara, who start to teeter due to the lack of oxygen her brain receive.

"Okay...I am going to need you to look at me Lady Kirara." She politely instruct her who continuously mutter to herself, "I'm getting married today!"

Kirara eventually adhere to the instruction when she stare Saiyuki dead in her face as she kindly suggest for her to, "You can do this. Just remember to breathe in and out."

"I'm ready, Saiyuki." Kirara confidently assert while the attendant gently advance her head forward before she return it to its upright position.

"You have good timing my lady...your sister is almost at the end of the aisle." Saiyuki merrily inform Kirara as she break away from the aisle and return back to her side.

She promptly guide Kirara to the opening end of the aisle when she glance up only to notice that all of the guests' attention remain directly at the alter.

1111

Makoto watch as Lady Ayume strut down the aisle in a black kimono with an array of pink, pale blue, peach, light and dark pink flowers with peach dashes to represent the wind.

A sense of relief wash over his body when he glimpse backward and recognize their leader at the opposite end of the aisle.

Kirara paid no mind to the stares that were directed at her since she visualized all of the one hundred and one ways she could murdered her fiancé.

Sesshomaru's mother overhear all of the "ohs" and "ahs" from the crowd, which spurn her to take a sneak peak at the young lady.

'_Wow...she's really beautiful._' She mentally conclude once Kirara travel toward her sister and hand over the bouquet of flowers that were in her hand.

As the priest begin to bless the couple, he ask, "Who gives this woman away?"

Kirara briefly peek over to her right to see her father, her brother and companions that she travel with as all of them stand to their feet at the same time.

All of their voices seem to harmonize, which cause their baritone voices to resonate within her when they supply answer to the priest's question "We do" and return to their seats.

Makoto feel Toshu's elbow grind against his side before he gesture in the direction of Kirara's family. Instead of a verbal answer, he lift up one finger as a signal for him to wait till after the wedding while Sesshomaru aid his bride up the altar.

Once the priest finish the blessing rite it was time for the vows to be exchange by the groom and the bride.

The non-family members curiously observe as the first three rows on both sides stand to their feet before the two ends face each other.

'_Wait a minute...what the heck am I suppose to say again?_' she silently wonder to herself when she suddenly feel all eyes directly on her and Sesshomaru.

"I, Sesshomaru, take you Kirara, to be my partner, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us." (**A/n: I do not take credit for these vows. I borrowed them of of the Internet.**)

'_I hope she remembers the next part._' Sesshomaru inwardly pray to himself as he study her facial expression, which signal to him that she was in deep thought.

'_Do I even remember what was on that piece of paper?_' Kirara ponder to herself before she realize that the attention of the crowd turn to her.

"Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you. For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May Kami-sama do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me."

'_Whew…that was too close._' She mentally consider while she inwardly wipe the sweat from across her forehead with her hand.

Kirara noticed that a young lady had offered her and Sesshomaru two saucers of sake and were instructed to drink it when she heard Sesshomaru read from something.

The voice of the priest soon distract her from the attendants, who collect both of the saucers once they consume all of the contents.

'_More sake? Oh wait…this is the san san kudo._' She recall from practice after they bring another small saucer to the couple and sip three times before she hand it back to one of the Miko maidens.

Once they consume their fair share of sake, each of their individual family members had saucers of sake in their hands as well.

As they had practiced, they consumed the drink at the same time before the Miko maidens nimbly collected all of their saucers.

"Would the father on the bride side introduce the family members?" the priest politely suggest out loud as it signal to Lord Raiden to step forward.

"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Lord Raiden." The man name Raiden start before he introduce his entire family to the West Kingdom crowd, "Here is my lovely wife Kimiko, our children Noaki, Ayume, Jirou, Isamu and of course Kirara."

"Would a representative from the groom's side introduce their family member?" The priest then direct his question to the groom's side.

There was woman instead of a man, who take the front and center position. "Hello to all and a good afternoon. If you can not tell I am Sesshomaru's mother and we have his step-brother Inuyasha off on to this side."

"Now that the families completed the introductions may I have the rings please?" the priest kindly request, which cause Kirara to slightly panic at the request.

'_Rings…we didn't have rings?_' she think when a "psh" from her side captures her concentration.

Ayume hand over a golden circular object that feel extremely cold to the touch when she shift it in the palm of her hand.

She face Sesshomaru as he reach out for her left hand, slide the cold metal along her ring finger before she repeat the same action for him.

"We will now conclude the ceremony when the couple offer Sakai twigs from this sacred tree." The priest finally announce as they pick up three twigs and place it inside of the altar.

Kirara suddenly feel Sesshomaru's cold hand within her warm hand, which cause her to slightly jump from abrupt the contact.

As they venture down the aisle, people start to toss rice over the couple's head for a sign of good luck.

'_Its over…I can't believe that I am really married to Sesshomaru!_' Kirara inwardly contemplate in a melancholy happiness.

Ayume and Inuyasha closely trail behind the bride and groom as well as their respective family and friends follow behind them.

Kirara silently assumed that Sesshomaru knew where they were to go next when her cheeks unexpectedly turned red. '_Ew, I don't want Sesshomaru cooties!_'

1111

Miranda and the other servants had just wrapped with the final touches on the ballroom when one of the servants announced the end of the wedding ceremony, which caused excitement to surge through the room.

"Everyone calm down! Take your places! Remember the Miko maidens will take care of the sake and other alcoholic beverages." Miranda loudly shout for the other servants to hear.

"Remember that guests with a gold stamp on their wedding invitations are permitted in to the reception that is being held in the ballroom." She sternly remind the servants that stand at the many entrances of the ballroom.

Miranda had managed to catch a tad bit of the wedding before she had swapped back to complete the ballroom activities.

'_Lord Sesshomaru will be so proud of all our hard work._' She mentally consider to herself when she suddenly fill her chest swell full of pride.

As the guests flow inside of the ballroom, Miranda canter her way over to the entrance where the immediate families was assign to enter through.

"Ah Miranda, it is so good to see you again!" A familiar feminine voice shriek, which prompt Miranda to identify the source of the voice.

"My lady, how have you been?" Miranda question after she happen to runn in to Lord Sesshomaru's very own mother first.

"It's been a bore dear…I was surprise when I ran into Itsuki claiming my son was getting married. I just had to come and see for myself!" she declare after she release a deep sigh.

Miranda merely nod her head at the statement when she recognize Sesshomaru's younger stepbrother, Inuyasha, arrive inside of the ballroom as well.

"_Miranda_, you still look the same from when I was here!" He politely greet Miranda before he wrap his arm around her for a quick embrace.

"Thank you Inuyasha. I see you have grown taller from the last time I saw you." She add in with a pleasant smirk on her face when she speak.

"I'll take them to our seats. I can see our reserved table from over here. Come on guys!" she yell at Akio, Itsuki, Ryouji, Kosei, Arashi and Rin as they trail behind the matriarch.

Miranda happily observe the group casually travel in the direction of their assign table.

'_So next is Lady Kirara's family…_' she assume as she glance toward the door once again in anticipation to meet the Lady's family.


	29. Chapter 29

The first group Miranda was able to recognize them as Kirara's personal companions. However there were an additional six people that registers as complete total strangers to her.

"Hello, my name is Miranda. I will guide you to your seats." She promptly introduces herself to the six new people in the group.

"Miranda, this is Kirara's father and mother, Lord Raiden and Lady Kimiko. These are her siblings Prince Noaki, Princess Ayume, Prince Jiro and Prince Isamu." Makoto formally introduces each one of them to the older woman.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you all! I'm more than confident that you sll will enjoy the reception!" She comments before she guides the group to their table.

'_So this is Lady Kirara's family…' _Miranda considers while she guides them to their assign table.

1111

Seshomaru patiently waits for Kirara to eventually emerge from her dressing room.

'_How long does it take to change into a kimono?' _he inquisitively wonders before he personally decides to discover what the hold up was_._

"She's all done!" Saiyuki happily declares before Sesshomaru could possibly advance toward the door of the room.

Kirara finally surfaces with a bright red kimono and a white obi wrap around her petite frame. On the front portion of her kimono were pictures of cranes, scenes of flowers, and various nature motifs that was stitched in golden thread. Her hairstyle slightly changes so that Kanayashi ornaments, combs and other accessories were plainly visible.

Sesshomaru could not help but to stare directly at the blonde hair beauty currently in front of him.

"Earth to Sesshomaru…" Kirara mentions to him as she waves one of her hands in front of his face.

He secures her hand within his only to find it warm to the touch while for her his hand still feels cold to the touch.

"Are you alright?" Kirara curiously questions since he clearly starts to act out of his stoic character. "You're starting to zone out on me."

Kirara critically observes Sesshomaru leisurely steps forward before he softly whispers in her ear, "You just look beautiful that's all."

"Ah…well we need to get to the reception." Kirara quickly reminds him of their duties while a unknowingly blush materializes on her face at the same time.

1111

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention." Jaken loudly speaks from a makeshift wooden platform.

"Will the parents of the bride and groom come to the stage? The couple is on there way here." Jaken suddenly announces while he physically signals to Miranda and Yamato to retrieve the bride and groom.

Miranda and Yamato patiently wait at their designated spot after they speedily removed themselves from within the reception crowd.

"Where are they?" Yamato quietly inquires toward Miranda.

Right before Miranda could even supply an answer, the sight of Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Kirara enters in their view.

'_Those two look at complete ease with each another.' 'You wouldn't think by the way Lady Kirara is acting that she would want to be free from his grasp.' _

"Congratulations Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Kirara." The two congratulates the couple in unison as they bow at the waist.

"Follow me, my Lord." Yamato speaks up. "Follow me, my Lady." Miranda speaks up as well.

The two promptly separate from one another but were still within close proximity of one another.

They were being guided to their designated spot when Kirara noticed her father and mother while Sesshomaru saw his mother on his side.

The bride and groom overhear Jaken rattles off some facts about each of their respective family history.

'_I didn't know he had a stepbrother. Wait…he killed how many youkais? His father left his fang so he can forge a sword. They are the strongest inu-youaki around? His mom's a what?' _

'_She has four siblings, three brothers and one sister and is the youngest. Her father is a samurai and her mother is from the Eastern Kingdom. Her father and mother had a mi-ai? They found their own village from a chance encounter. __Her brothers are known throughout the land for their looks. _Kirara is the second most powerful demon. She has had how many suitors?'

The couple intently listens in on the other's family history since as they were just as surprised and intrigued by the other's family lineage.

"So let's hear a rousing applause for Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Kirara!" Jaken shouts, which causes a round of thunderous claps to erupt in the ballroom before he stands off to the side.

"Now that we have finish with the _nakado_, we will have a word from Lord Sesshomaru's and Lady Kirara's friends."

Makoto and Akio each gather up their respective men before they file onto the stage.

"Lady Kirara, we're extremely proud to serve you as we have done for so many years now. We all have enjoyed the job because you are just so passionate and energized. We are sure that your marriage with Lord Sesshomaru will last for all eternity. So thank you for providing us a home in your heart and a family some of us never have had. Thank you."

"Lord Sesshomaru it has been an honor and a privilege to serve under you. We have been blessed to protect what you cherish the most and for that we are gratuitously humble that you place total faith and trust in us. You have provided a home and a place of refuge for all five of us. We know that Kami-sama will rain down blessings on your marriage with Lady Kirara."

Jaken swiftly appears next to the bride and groom as he patiently waits for the group of men to return to their respective seats.

"Now we will have the cake ceremony and the couple will share their first dance as husband and wife." Jaken announces as the servants roll out a beautiful white cake with purple flowers growing along one side of the cake.

Kirara quickly reaches for the knife once the cake suddenly appears right in front of her. _'I could stab Sesshomaru right now and run away.' _

Her thoughts wane once she feels Sesshomaru's hand rests on top hers. He had already silently noticed how she slightly advanced toward him rather than the cake with the sharp knife in her hand. _'Damn it.' _

They cut two small pieces and places the slices on a small plate. The both grab a small piece when it was Sesshomaru turn to receive the slice first. _'Oh I can get my revenge…' _

She smashes and smears the cake over his face with her hand, which earns silent cheers from her group. _'There's our Kirara!'_

Laughter erupted at how cute the couple acted with each other after Sesshomaru returned the favor.

Once one of the helps aid to clean the couple up, they make their way to the dance floor before the sound of slow music can be heard.

"May I have this dance?" Sesshomaru politely asks her.

"Yes. You may." Kirara kindly accepts with a strain smile evident on her face before her _husband _grabs her right hand and places his left hand on the curve of her back.

"I'm glad you are being docile today."

"Docile? I just was blocking my true thoughts."

"Then I guess I will have to owe you another favor."

"Are you sure you're really Sesshomaru? You're being quite docile today."

"Docile? Hm, you wished. I'm just blocking out my true thoughts."

"Whatever…"

"You only have an hour to go."

"I can last that long."

"I didn't know you have siblings."

"Yep…but I already figured out you invited them since I haven't talked to them in years."

"Why not?"

"I'll tell you…_someday_."

"What about you? I didn't know you had a stepbrother?"

"Oh you mean Inuyasha…"

"So his name is Inuyasha?"

"Unfortunately so…"

"Why don't you talk about him?"

"No one really ask about him but he wouldn't want me to anyway."

"I know the feeling."

"You're a pretty good dancer."

"Okay Sesshomaru…you're really creeping me out with the niceness."

Sesshomaru and Kirara's conversation ends as soon as the song ceases. Cheers from the back echoes through the ballroom as the couple return to their table with their family.

"Lady Kirara will you follow me." Miranda appears next to Kirara just as Jaken takes to the stage.

"Sure," she says as she rises to her feet and follows Miranda when she hears Jaken tell something along the lines of a joke.

"Miranda, where are we going?" Kirara curiously inquires as she adjusts the _uchikake _with her hands.

"This is the last change…" Miranda hastily informs her before she finally guides her back to Saiyuki, who quickly pulls her into the dressing room.

"You actually have some taste Sesshy. I didn't know you were going marry _the_ famous Raiden of the Slicing Wind Techinque daughter, the youngest woman at that." Sesshomaru listens to his mother speak to him.

"I never knew he had it in him." Inuyasha teasingly adds in with a boyish smirk.

"Lord Sesshomaru, its time." Yamato informs him once he approaches him after he hears all of the toasts and speeches.

He merely rises to his feet before he treks behind Yamato.

1111

"There that's the finishing touch." Saiyuki's voice abruptly breaks Kirara out of her innermost thoughts.

Kirara peers down to see that she was clad in powdery snow white strapless corset outline with golden foil leaves as she runs her fingers over it. The skirt portion was puffy with a sheer cover over the top with small petals visible throughout the dress. It was much easier to move around in then the kimono that was off to her left.

She feels her hair was free from all of the items that was previous in her hair as it was style in a side bun with Japanese plums string in the back of her hair.

'_This is so pretty!' _she thinks to herself after she turns around to check herself out in the mirror.

"Lady Kirara, the _kanpai_, is about to start!" Miranda's voice can be heard from behind the wooden door which led to her dressing room.

"Okay then. Let's get you down." Saiyuki states while she offers her hand once again to aid Kirara so she can step down from the platform.

"Thank you."

1111

Kirara and Sesshomaru eventually made it back to their table just in time to hear the last of the toasts.

"The parents will now briefly speak on the behalf of their immediate family. So parents please come back to the stage again." Jaken speaks up.

Sesshomaru and Kirara quietly observe their parents travel over to where the steps to the stage.

"Hello there again, I am Sesshomaru's mother and I would like to congratulate my son on finally getting married! I even _begged_, _wished_ and _prayed_ for love to him straight across his head, but I think Kirara you completely knocked him over…much appreciated my dear. So from Inuyasha and your mother, may your marriage blossom into nothing but pure love."

"I can't believe that my little girl is married. Kami-sama, it feels like yesterday since I've held you in my arms. Just know that no matter what happens your family will always be there for you at the end of the day. Please know that we love you very much, Kirara.

"Sesshomaru…you better not make her cry or it's your head, got me?" This earns Lord Raiden some laughs from the crowd at the bride's father stubbornness and refusal to let his daughter go. "...but I know Kami-sama will bless you and your marriage."

"If there are any more services that need to be taken place please voice them?" Jaken directs toward the crowd after retrieving the microphone from Lord Raiden's grasp.

"Now that there are no more services, the couple will now perform the sacred candle lighting services. They will light each and every one of the candles that are located on your table." Jaken announces.

Yamato hands the couple each a lit match as they start with their parents table and soon visits each and every guests tables.

They momentarily pause at the Memorial Candle as they each offer their individual prayer before they light the candle at the table.

Jaken then orders the presents to remain on the stage before he announces the flower presentation.

Sesshomaru was the first to stand up with a bouquet flowers in his grasp and heads over to his mother's seat. Her eyes seem as if they were on the verge of tears before she envelops him in a tight embrace.

Kirara follows suit and proclaims before she hands her mother the bouquet of flowers, "Isamu, Jirou, Ayume, Noaki, Mom and Dad. Thank you."

"Now we will conclude the reception with a quick word from the married couple." Jaken quickly speaks up after he notices that some of the guests start to rise to their feet in order to leave.

Sesshomaru lead Kirara over to the steps, helps her up and takes his place alongside of her at the center of the stage.

"We would like to extend a thank you to you all who took time out of your busy schedules to attend our wedding. My wife and I wish you safe travels back to your home and prosperous wealth." Sesshomaru thanks the crowd of people.

Miranda and Yamato once again serve as a guide to lead them out of the back way while the guests exit from the front of the room.

'_So now they're officially married then.' _


End file.
